Reading Ideas For Your Ceremony
Why should you have a reading in your ceremony?
I often hear couples say, “What’s the point of having a reading”? Their initial reaction to the suggestion is either that they haven’t thought about it, or that it would be odd to hear someone else’s words being read in their ceremony.
These are some of the reasons why readings can be amazing:
Art has the unique ability to take thoughts and feelings and transform it into something we can relate and connect with.
Authors/poets/songwriters can translate ideas into succinct and beautiful texts with their skill and creativity.
We can often relate to a film, book or song more than we do a story a friend might tell us!
Injects more personality & authenticity into your ceremony.
A chance to give a loved one a role on the day.
It also creates rhythm & variation in your ceremony.
Finally, as your celebrant if gives me artistic inspiration! I get a sense of your likes & values. Can I link my script writing to your text? How might it influence my own writing?
Find a reading that speaks to you both as a couple.
Consider what values you have in your relationship? What kind of literature, media & music do you enjoy?
Who you will ask to read this piece of text? What is their relationship to you & how could their personality complement the reading you choose?
When I start working with couples I send them an extensive list of readings & also encourage them to research their own.
Five reading ideas for your ceremony:
The Kiss by Elizabeth Nannestad
A beautiful poem by an NZ author, this is a short, but fun & romantic piece!
There we were- two people
and a lot of scenery.
I don’t know what business
You had to kiss me – now
everyone is interested:
the low boughs of pohutukawa
the shoulders of sand and the marram,
our radiant moon.
Don’t stop now – think
how we’d disappoint them.
2. The Hot Priest's Speech From 'Fleabag' By Phoebe Waller-Bridge
This is an epic scene in the TV show & translates effortlessly for a reading. Ideal for couples who identify more with being “romantic realists”, who see the beauty and humanity in the hard work of relationships.
Love is awful. It’s awful. It’s painful. It’s frightening. It makes you doubt yourself, judge yourself, distance yourself from the other people in your life. It makes you selfish. It makes you creepy, makes you obsessed with your hair, makes you cruel, makes you say and do things you never thought you would do. It’s all any of us want, and it’s hell when we get there. So no wonder it’s something we don’t want to do on our own. I was taught if we’re born with love then life is about choosing the right place to put it. People talk about that a lot, feeling right, when it feels right, it’s easy. But I’m not sure that’s true. It takes strength to know what’s right. And love isn’t something that weak people do. Being a romantic takes a hell of a lot of hope. I think what they mean is, when you find somebody that you love, it feels like hope.
3. I always wanted you by Jonathan Muncy Storm.
A nice choice for couples who feel more spiritually inclined & strongly identify with having found their soulmate.
I always wanted you.
Even when I didn’t
Know what I wanted.
Even before I knew you.
It was you.
You were the chapter
That I didn’t know the words to, but
Always knew it existed.
And when I finally
Found it and began
To read, I knew I
Was home
“In My Life” by John Lennon
An incredible song, but these lyrics are wonderful on their own. A contemplative piece that speaks to the gratitude one feels to have found a partner who makes life more fulfilling.
There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I’ve loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more
In my life, I love you more
Maybe by Anonymous
This is a wonderful reading for those who have been on long journey to meet their partner! It speaks about the expectations we go through life with, but that in the end, maybe, that was a journey we were supposed to go on.
Maybe we are supposed to meet the wrong people before we meet the right one so when they finally arrive we are truly grateful for the gift we have been given.
Maybe it’s true that we don’t know what we have lost until we lose it but it is also true that we don’t know what we’re missing until it arrives.
Maybe the happiest of people don’t have the best of everything, but make the best of everything that comes their way.
Maybe the best kind of love is the kind where you sit on the sofa together, not saying a word, and walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you ever had.
Maybe once in a lifetime you find someone who not only touches your heart but also your soul, someone who loves you for who you are and not what you could be.
Maybe the art of true love is not about finding the perfect person, but about seeing an imperfect person perfectly.