Wedding reading
May the Road Rise Up to Meet You
Traditional Irish
“May the Road Rise Up to Meet You” (traditional Irish) is a blessing read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 25 seconds read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
IrishCentral calls it the most well-known Irish blessing and says its origin is not entirely clear, though it is believed to have roots in Ireland.
What it says
A traveler’s blessing. May the road rise up to meet you, the wind stay at your back, the sun shine warm on your face and the rain fall soft on your fields. Then the last two lines turn from the journey to the parting: until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand. It wishes someone well on their way, with the promise of meeting again built in, which is why it works both for a couple setting out and for a person who has died.
Ends warm and ends fast. Works at both a wedding and a funeral. Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: Irish · a send-off · very short · warm · closing a service · well known.
Who it suits
Families with Irish roots, and anyone who wants a warm, short send-off rather than a formal prayer. It suits weddings and funerals equally, outdoor ceremonies, farming families who will hear the line about fields, and services where the family want warmth over solemnity. The single mention of God is light enough for many loosely religious families; a fully secular one can end at “until we meet again”.
Where it goes in the ceremony
At the end. At a wedding, as the blessing just before the pronouncement or the recessional. At a funeral, as the final words of the service or of the graveside, with “until we meet again” leading into the farewell. The officiant says it, or a family member with an Irish connection.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 46 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 20 seconds of reading.
- Keep it warm and conversational, not solemn. It is a wish, said to friends.
- The first four lines are images. Let each one sit for a beat before the next.
- Pause before “And until we meet again”. That is where the blessing turns into a goodbye.
- Many people know it. If you see lips moving, slow a touch so they can stay with you.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “May the Road Rise Up to Meet You” take to read aloud?
“May the Road Rise Up to Meet You” takes about 25 seconds 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 “May the Road Rise Up to Meet You”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “May the Road Rise Up to Meet You” runs about 25 seconds, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “May the Road Rise Up to Meet You” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Wording confirmed through a reputable secondary source that reproduces someone else’s transcription. Due a check against a primary edition.
Checked
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
- Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)30 secondsA Celtic blessing in the same spirit, quieter and stranger
- The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)15 secondsThe oldest closing blessing, three lines long
- Be Thou My Vision4 minutesAn Irish hymn for the same service
- Sheva Brachot — the Seven Blessings5 minutesTraditional, Hebrew
- A Closing, with no prayer35 secondsOfficiantScript
- Apache Wedding Blessing40 secondsTraditional, widely anthologised