Readings
Wedding ceremony readings
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62 readings
Type a word, or press a tag. All 62 readings are listed further down either way.
A wedding ceremony usually has one or two readings, each running between about thirty seconds and two minutes, read by a guest rather than by the officiant. The readings that are out of copyright can be printed in full in the ceremony script; the rest are named here, and the reader brings a printed copy.
Almost everything written about wedding readings is written for the couple choosing one. This is written for the person who has to stand up and read it, or hand it to a friend who will — so every entry leads with how long it runs out loud, who usually delivers it, and whether the words come with it.
The spoken lengths are real. They are calculated at a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, and they are the same figures the run-sheet uses to work out when the ceremony actually ends.
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- Bible verses for a wedding ceremony201 Corinthians 13 is the passage most often read at weddings, and Genesis 2, Ruth 1, Song of Solomon 8, Ecclesiastes 4 and Colossians 3 are the others that come up again and again.
- Poems for a wedding ceremony16The wedding poems that are out of copyright, and therefore printable in a ceremony script, are mostly Elizabethan and Victorian: Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43, Burns’s “A Red, Red Rose”, Anne Bradstreet, Spenser’s Sonnet 75, Whitman.
- Non-religious wedding readings41A non-religious wedding reading is one that works in a ceremony with no religious framing at all — no scripture, no prayer, no blessing invoked.
Every reading, shortest first
- 10 secondsA Word to HusbandsOgden Nash · Four lines of marriage advice, and the shortest laugh available. Bring it printed.Reader brings a copy
- 15 secondsThe Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)King James Bible · Fifteen seconds, three thousand years old, and it closes anything.
- 20 secondsMark 10:6–9King James Bible · Mark's shorter version of the same passage.
- 20 seconds1 Peter 4:8–10King James Bible · Twenty seconds, and it covers hospitality and forgiveness.
- 20 secondsMay the Road Rise Up to Meet YouTraditional Irish · Ends warm and ends fast. Works at both a wedding and a funeral.
- 25 secondsMatthew 19:4–6King James Bible · Where "let no man put asunder" comes from.
- 25 secondsfrom Song of the Open RoadWalt Whitman · Twenty-five seconds, and it ends on a question the couple answer with the vows.
- 25 secondsDeep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)Fiona Macleod (William Sharp) · Barely religious, deeply calming. The real Gaelic-revival poem, not the choral version.
- 30 secondsRuth 1:16–17aKing James Bible · Said between two women, and the most quoted promise in scripture.
- 30 secondsSong of Solomon 8:6–7King James Bible · Fierce rather than sweet. "Many waters cannot quench love."
- 30 secondsA BirthdayChristina Rossetti · Pure gladness, and over in half a minute.
- 30 secondsA Closing, with no prayerOfficiantScript · Ours. Closes a service without a blessing, and gives the room a job.
- 35 secondsEcclesiastes 4:9–12King James Bible · Plain and practical. Works at a service with almost no religious framing.
- 35 secondsJohn 15:9–12King James Bible · A gospel reading, short enough to sit anywhere in the ceremony.
- 35 secondsPsalm 100King James Bible · Short, glad, and useful right at the top of a service.
- 40 secondsSong of Solomon 2:10–13King James Bible · The one that sounds like a love letter, because it is one.
- 40 secondsPsalm 128King James Bible · The household psalm — the responsorial at most Catholic weddings.
- 40 secondsTobit 8:5–8King James Bible · The Catholic favourite — "that we may become aged together."
- 40 secondsThe Lord's PrayerMatthew 6, King James Bible · Say the first line alone, then let the room carry it. Warn them it is coming.
- 40 secondsApache Wedding BlessingTraditional, widely anthologised · Often asked for. Its origin story is not what people think — worth knowing.Reader brings a copy
- 45 seconds1 Corinthians 13:4–8aKing James Bible · The short form — the one most people mean by "the love passage".
- 45 secondsA Red, Red RoseRobert Burns · Scots dialect. Give the reader the words in advance so it does not ambush them.
- 45 secondsTo My Dear and Loving HusbandAnne Bradstreet · Written in 1670 and still the plainest statement of the thing.
- 45 secondsi carry your heart with meE. E. Cummings · Short and much loved. The punctuation trips readers — rehearse it.Reader brings a copy
- 50 secondsEphesians 3:14–19King James Bible · "Rooted and grounded in love" — and it names both families at once.
- 50 secondsSonnet 130William Shakespeare · Thirteen lines of insults, then a last couplet that beats every compliment in the book. It teases the sonnets sitting next to it.
- 50 secondsMake Me an Instrument of Your PeaceAttributed to St Francis of Assisi · First printed in 1912 and not actually by St Francis — but it is the one people want.
- 50 secondsSonnet XVII — "I do not love you as if you were salt-rose"Pablo Neruda · Ask which translation. They are not interchangeable.Reader brings a copy
- 55 seconds1 John 4:7–12King James Bible · The passage that says plainly where the tradition thinks love comes from.
- 55 secondsEshet Chayil — A Woman of Valour (Proverbs 31, JPS 1917)JPS 1917 translation · Sung on Shabbat, read at the funeral of a mother or grandmother.
- 55 secondsSonnet 18William Shakespeare · "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Everyone half-knows it, which is a help.
- 55 secondsSonnet 43Elizabeth Barrett Browning · "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." The most requested after Sonnet 116.
- 55 secondsOn Becoming Real, from The Velveteen RabbitMargery Williams · Good for a child reader, and for a couple who have already been through something.
- a minute and a halfProverbs 31:10–12, 25–31King James Bible · Read at weddings, and often at the funeral of a mother or grandmother.
- a minute and a halfSonnet 116William Shakespeare · "Let me not to the marriage of true minds." Warn your reader: the last two lines need slowing down.
- a minute and a halfSonnet 75Edmund Spenser · "One day I wrote her name upon the strand." She gets the better of him halfway through.
- a minute and a halfOn marriage, from The Devil's Dictionary — five definitionsAmbrose Bierce · This one bites — mordant, not gently teasing, and only for a couple with a dry, self-aware sense of humour. Read all five before you offer it: the entry on marriage makes an 1881 joke about masters and slaves.
- a minute and a halfUnionRobert Fulghum · The best-known modern wedding reading. Your reader brings the book.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfOn love, from Letters to a Young PoetRainer Maria Rilke · The "two solitudes" passage. Which translation matters a great deal here.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfA Lovely Love StoryEdward Monkton · The dinosaur one. A minute long, and about as easy as a reading gets.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfThe Impressive Clergyman’s speech — "Mawage"William Goldman, for the 1987 film of The Princess Bride · Everyone asks. It is film dialogue, not the novel — nod to it in your own words instead.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfColossians 3:12–17King James Bible · About the daily work of it — forbearing and forgiving.
- a minute and a halfGenesis 2:18–24King James Bible · The oldest answer to why anyone marries: it is not good to be alone.
- a minute and a halfRomans 12:9–18King James Bible · "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."
- a minute and a halfLove Is a Temporary MadnessLouis de Bernières · The unsentimental one, about what is left after the fireworks.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfOn Marriage, from The ProphetKahlil Gibran · The Prophet entered the public domain, so this one we can print in full.
- a minute and a halffrom Extracts from Adam's Diary — selected entriesMark Twain · Adam is baffled by Eve for four entries and then says the truest thing in the book. Tell the reader to slow right down for the last one.
- a minute and a halfThe Country of MarriageWendell Berry · For a couple who want something with more weight than the standards.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfOh, the Places You'll Go!Dr. Seuss · Read from the book itself, not a printout — the rights here are actively enforced.Reader brings a copy
- two minutesThe Owl and the Pussy-catEdward Lear · Nonsense verse the whole room half-remembers, and the one piece here nobody has ever objected to. Made for a child reader.
- two minutesfrom The Importance of Being Earnest, Act IOscar Wilde · Dialogue, so it wants two readers or one who can mark the switch. Algernon has nothing kind to say about marriage, including a line on the Divorce Court — that is the joke, but know it is coming.
- two minutes1 Corinthians 13:1–13King James Bible · The whole chapter, including "through a glass, darkly".
- two minutesYes, I'll Marry You, My DearPam Ayres · A crowd-pleaser at British weddings. Bring a properly sourced copy — the versions online differ.Reader brings a copy
- 3 minutesHow Falling in Love Is Like Owning a DogTaylor Mali · The dog one. Several minutes long, and it earns them — but your reader needs to rehearse it.Reader brings a copy
- 3 minutesJoyful, Joyful, We Adore TheeHenry van Dyke, 1907 · Beethoven, so the room will carry it even if nobody knows the words.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesLove Divine, All Loves ExcellingCharles Wesley, 1747 · The default church-wedding hymn, and the one guests are most likely to know.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesThe Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)Scottish Psalter, 1650 · Psalm 23 to a tune. Confirm the tune, not just the hymn.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesBe Thou My VisionAncient Irish, trans. Mary Byrne 1905 · One of the few that sits comfortably at both a wedding and a funeral.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesA recorded songThe family’s choice · For anything modern. Add the title, and the run-sheet gives it a cue and a slot.Reader brings a copy
- 4 minutesA live performanceA family member or musician · Someone performing live. Plan for the possibility they cannot get through it.Reader brings a copy
- 5 minutesSheva Brachot — the Seven BlessingsTraditional, Hebrew · Usually shared among seven people. Get the text and the order from the couple.Too long to print in full
- 8 minutesMusic as people arriveThe venue · You say nothing. It is on the run-sheet so the clock tells the truth.Reader brings a copy
Questions
How many readings should a wedding ceremony have?
A wedding ceremony usually has one or two readings, each running between about thirty seconds and two minutes, read by a guest rather than by the officiant. The readings that are out of copyright can be printed in full in the ceremony script; the rest are named here, and the reader brings a printed copy.
Can these readings be printed in the ceremony script?
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.
How long does a reading take out loud?
Between about twelve seconds for a short blessing and four minutes for a congregational hymn, with most readings landing between forty seconds and two minutes. Every entry here carries its own figure, calculated at a ceremony pace of roughly 130 words a minute.
The reading is two minutes. The ceremony is the rest of it.
Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole thing written out — the welcome, their story, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — with your chosen readings already in place and the timing worked out around them.
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