Wedding reading
A Word to Husbands
Ogden Nash
“A Word to Husbands” by Ogden Nash is a poem read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 10 seconds 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
Four lines, and still in copyright — Nash died in 1971 and his estate licenses actively. Print it from a licensed Nash collection. Do not let anyone recite it from memory; at four lines a wrong word is the whole poem.
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
Four lines of marriage advice, and the shortest laugh available. Bring it printed.
Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: a word to husbands · whenever you are wrong admit it · four lines · ten seconds · advice disguised as a joke · very short.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “A Word to Husbands” take to read aloud?
“A Word to Husbands” takes about 10 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 “A Word to Husbands”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “A Word to Husbands” runs about 10 seconds, 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 “A Word to Husbands” 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. Four lines, and still in copyright — Nash died in 1971 and his estate licenses actively. Print it from a licensed Nash collection. Do not let anyone recite it from memory; at four lines a wrong word is the whole poem.
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.