Common wedding readings

It's interesting:
"Just as the happy couple wanted, this is a lovely, small, intimate gathering of close friends and family – so could someone please tell me why I’m here. Oh, that’s right, to make a speech, so here goes …"

Weddings invite several opportunities for verbal expression. Readings at the ceremony and reception are commonplace and are given to support the bride and groom on their day. There are well-known readings you can use to support your speech or toast when you think that you cannot come up with the right thing to say yourself. Whether the readings are religious passages or not, poems, or excerpts from books, the words always express the common denominator of love.

1. Religious

   • The reading from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a in the Bible is commonly read during wedding ceremonies. It reads: "Love is patient and kind- love is not jealous or boastful- it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way- it is not irritable or resentful- it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." Additional popular religious readings are Ruth 1:16-17, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and the Song of Solomon, 2:10-13.

   Poetry

   • Several excerpts from William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" can be used during a wedding. The passage that begins: "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep- the more I give to thee..." is commonly used. Wise words also come from Wilferd Peterson in his poem "The Art of Marriage," which begins, "The little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands." "Hinterhof" by James Fenton, "White Writing" by Carol Ann Duffy, and "Match" by Sophie Hannah are also well-liked choices.

   Cultural

   • Wedding readings can also be taken from a particular culture, especially if the bride and groom would like to celebrate their heritage. One verse of the Irish Wedding Blessing, for example, begins, "May God be with you and bless you. May you see your children's children."

   Tips

   • Wedding readings don't need to come solely from a religious text or a poem about love. They can be lines heard in a movie, lyrics to a favorite song or a paragraph from a book. Thumb through books by your favorite writers, peruse the Internet for quotations or watch a few romantic movies for great dialogue. In "When Harry Met Sally," Harry says, "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." The words to Etta James' "At Last" and the Rascal Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road" are common song lyrics to be used as readings.

Source: www.ehow.com

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