Wedding reading
Yes, I'll Marry You, My Dear
Pam Ayres
“Yes, I'll Marry You, My Dear” by Pam Ayres is a poem read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about two minutes read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is still in copyright, so the words are not reprinted here — the reader brings a printed copy.
Why the words are not printed here
Still in copyright. It is reproduced on half the wedding blogs on the internet without permission and the wordings drift — print it from With These Hands or another properly sourced copy rather than from a search result.
Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.
What it is about
A crowd-pleaser at British weddings. Bring a properly sourced copy — the versions online differ.
Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: yes I'll marry you my dear · a long list of what he will actually be doing · affectionate teasing · very popular in British ceremonies · broad and warm.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Yes, I'll Marry You, My Dear” take to read aloud?
“Yes, I'll Marry You, My Dear” takes about two minutes read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Yes, I'll Marry You, My Dear”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “Yes, I'll Marry You, My Dear” runs about two minutes, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “Yes, I'll Marry You, My Dear” be printed in a ceremony script?
Not by us. It is still in copyright, so we name it and point you at a copy rather than reprinting the words. Still in copyright. It is reproduced on half the wedding blogs on the internet without permission and the wordings drift — print it from With These Hands or another properly sourced copy rather than from a search result.
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.