Ceremonies by Nikki Kulin, Costa Celebrant - Wedding readings
Choosing wedding readings is as personal as you are! I have written a series of blogs to give 10 of each type of reading: traditional, alternative, spiritual, funny etc. They are exactly that: if you put into Google, ‘Wedding Readings’, there are literally thousands and thousands of possibilities.
You might want to ask the person you have chosen to read to choose something or indeed to write something. In this blog, I share some of the 2019 choices from wedding ceremonies I conducted..
Choose your guests to read and either choose what they will read or have me liaise with them to surprise you on the day. A Blessing by Anon
May your love and deep respect for each other sustain throughout the years to come.
May your life together flow with peace and harmony.
May your vows be fully realised and may you realise their own true nature together.
May you both promise to do what you think to be right; speak what you think to be the truth; help others in what is fair, accept your mistakes without excuses for them.
May you both accept full responsibility for your actions and reactions.
May sincerity of this resolution give you both strength to fulfil your duties towards yourself and others.
Amen.
From Captain Correlli’s Mandolin
Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides.
And when it subsides, you have to make a decision.
You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body.
No, don’t blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being “in love”, which any fool can do.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
Marriage, as most of us understand it, is a voluntary and full commitment of a man to a woman, to each other.
It is made in the deepest sense of to, the exclusion of all others and is entered in to with the desire, the hope and the firm intent that it will last forever.
A Vow by Wendy Cope
I cannot promise never to be angry; I cannot promise always to be kind. You know what you are taking on, my darling – It’s only at the start that love is blind. And yet I’m still the one you want to be with And you’re the one for me – of that I’m sure. You are my closest friend, my favourite person, The lover and the home I’ve waited for. I cannot promise that I will deserve you From this day on. I hope to pass that test. I love you and I want to make you happy. I promise I will do my very best.w.
Union by Robert Fulghum
You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry.
From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way.
All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart.
All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.
The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”
Look at one another and remember this moment in time.
Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years.
Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.
For after today you shall say to the world – This is my husband. This is my wife..
From Beginning to End by Robert Fulghum
You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment.
At some point, you decided to marry.
From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way.
All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks—all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”—those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”—and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart.
All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed—well, I meant it all, every word.”
Look at one another and remember this moment in time.
Before this moment you have been many things to one another—acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years.
Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you.
For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this—is my husband, this—is my wife.
When time is up and the sun it dies
Until the rivers flood and the ocean dries
Hand in hand under the falling sky
I will love you
When I’m old so old and I lose my mind
I’ll still look at you like it’s the first time
So many say it and it’s all a lie
But I will love you.
You are the reason I make is through the day
You gimme the reason to better all my ways
The beauty goes, the money spent
And everything else fades away
You are my constant
When we’ve walked the earth every inch and mile
Laughed so hard until we cried
Through every triumph and every trial
I will love you.
Today is a day you will always remember
The greatest day in anyone’s life
You’ll start off the day just two people in love
And end it as Husband and Wife
It’s a brand new beginning the start of a journey
With moments to cherish and treasure
And although there’ll be time when you both disagree
These will surely be outweighed by pleasure
You’ll have heard many words of advice in the past
When the secrets of marriage were spoken
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
Where the bond of true love lies unbroken
So live happy forever as lovers and friends
It’s the dawn of a new life for you
As you stand there together with love in your eyes
From the moment you whisper, ‘I do’
And with luck, all your hopes, and your dreams can be real
May success find its way to your hearts
Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
But today is the day it all starts.
Apache Wedding Blessing
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years, may happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.
Treat yourselves and each other with respect and remind yourselves often of what brought you together.
Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.
When frustration, difficult and fear assail your relationship – as they threaten all relationships at one time or another – remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives – remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there.
And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.
Winnie the Pooh by A A Milne
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh?” he whispered. “Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand.
“I just wanted to be sure of you.”
“We’ll be Friends Forever, won’t we, Pooh?” asked Piglet.
“Even longer,” Pooh answered.
“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together .. there is something you must always remember.
You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart … I’ll always be with you.”
What is Family?
A family is ….
The sweetest feelings
The warmest hugs
Trust and togetherness
Unconditional love
The stories of our lives written on the same page
The nicest memories anyone has ever made
Treasured photos
Thankful tears
Hearts overflowing with all the years
Being there for one another
Supporting and caring
Understanding, helping, sharing
Walking life’s path together
And making the journey more beautiful because …
We are a family …. And a family
is Love.
The one you love by Passenger
We’re all looking, That’s what he said For someone to share our thought’s, For someone to share our bed’s
But if you find someone That doesn’t try to change you And if you find someone That doesn’t have to blame you And you find someone You don’t need to explain to, You’ve found the one you love
We’re all searching, that’s all I know For someone to keep us warm, When the rain soaks through our clothes
But if you find a hand to hold When the night comes, To be there when your old And you’re frightened If you find someone That loves you with a love song, You’ve found the one you love
Oh, and if you find someone That doesn’t undermine you If you find someone That doesn’t drag behind you If you find someone That loves you just like I do, You’ve found the one you love.
Philip Pullman – The Amber Spyglass I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one will ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we’ll be joined so tight. Time Travelers By: Terah Cox May you take on the world together with all your hopes and dreams May you be each other’s anchor in smooth or rocky seas May you bend to the world’s winds and brave stalls and storms May you find common ground in all its changing forms May you cross stubborn boundaries and turn many a stone May you find haven for your souls May you have heart and home And if some days are grey and some nights are long and cold May you be each other’s sun and moon as your destinies unfold And should you lose sight of each other and start to drift apart May you circle back by following the compass of your heart.
A passage from “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
When he looked into her eyes, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke — the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.
Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert.
What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognised the same thing.
Because when you know the language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city.
And when two such people encounter each other, the past and the future become unimportant.
There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only.
It is the hand that evokes love and creates a twin soul for every person in the world.
Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning.
Chains by Simone Signoret
Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years. Picture hundreds, thousands, of threads, as long as love is.
For instance, picture kindness – how smoothly it unfurls when people care as much about each other as themselves.
Picture gentleness: when times are less than easy a reassuring stream of soothing words.
And respect, the essence of being a partner, each one delighting in the other.
And look at the joys and trials of being parents, the challenge none of us is prepared for; imagine the tough, flexible fibres that nurturing a child together can create.
And see laced around and through and everywhere diamond-twinkling filaments of laughter.
These profound, priceless connections start so simply – with a smile, perhaps, or admiring glance.
Picture again these hundreds, thousands, of threads as long as love is; longer than life.
Today is a strengthening of the strands that xxx and xxxx have spun together and will continue to spin together through the years to follow.
Blessing of Hands.
These are the hands of your best friend. They are holding yours on this special day as you promise to continue to love each other today, tomorrow and forever.
These are the hands that will continue to work alongside yours as together you build your future.
These are the hands that will continue to passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other.
These are the hands that will always hold you when fear or grief avails you.
These are the hands that will nurture your family now and forever.
These are the hands that will always give you
strength when you need it.
May these hands always reach out with love, tenderness and respect.
May these hands continue to build a loving relationship that lasts a lifetime.
May this Blessing be a beautiful symbol of the union of your two hearts, two lives, and two souls.
