Wedding reading
Be Thou My Vision
Ancient Irish, trans. Mary Byrne 1905
“Be Thou My Vision” by Ancient Irish, trans. Mary Byrne 1905 is a hymn read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 4 minutes read aloud, usually by everyone together. It is in the public domain but too long to print in a ceremony script, so this page points at a full text rather than reproducing one.
Why the words are not printed here
Public domain in the Byrne/Hull version. Sung to Slane. Works at a wedding as well.
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
One of the few that sits comfortably at both a wedding and a funeral.
Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: Irish · gentle · works at a wedding too · Slane.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Be Thou My Vision” take to read aloud?
“Be Thou My Vision” takes about 4 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 “Be Thou My Vision”?
Everyone together, rather than one reader. “Be Thou My Vision” runs about 4 minutes and needs the words in front of the room — in an order of service, on a screen, or led line by line by the officiant.
Can “Be Thou My Vision” be printed in a ceremony script?
Not in full here. Public domain in the Byrne/Hull version. Sung to Slane. Works at a wedding as well.
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.
Other readings that suit the same service
- In the Garden4 minutesC. Austin Miles, 1912
- Amazing Grace4 minutesJohn Newton, 1779
- Abide With Me4 minutesHenry Francis Lyte, 1847
- The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)4 minutesScottish Psalter, 1650
- How Great Thou Art5 minutesStuart K. Hine (English text, 1949)
- It Is Well With My Soul4 minutesHoratio Spafford, 1873