Please share the BEST most amazingly awesome unique wedding readings

Aw, I was going to say A Lovely Love story. We used it and it was a hit. Do you have so many overlapping guests that they'd remember? I'd say use it anyway!

We also used e.e. cummings' "i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)" but that is used pretty frequently so not unique, but I do love it.

I was just looking for reading for our wedding! Here are a few that I really liked.

(Princess Bride)

“Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches… I have stayed these years in my hovel because of you. I have taught myself languages because of you. I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. I have lived my life with only the prayer that some sudden dawn you might glance in my direction. I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids… I love you. Okay? Want it louder? I love you. Spell it out, should I? I ell-oh-vee-ee why-oh-you. Want it backward? You love I…

(This is just cute)

The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice.

Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage.

Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.

I like this Dinosaur thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny.

He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now.

I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur, thought the Dinosaur.

She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice.

She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.

But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

He is also overly fond of things.

Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?

But her mind skips from here to there so quickly thought the Dinosaur.

She is also uncommonly keen on shopping.

Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?

I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

For they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.

I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping, thought the Dinosaur.

For she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides,

I am not unkeen on shopping either.

Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old.

Look at them.

Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.

And that, my friends, is how it is with love.

Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together.

For the sun is warm.

And the world is a beautiful place

We had 2 readings. The first was the more serious one - "The Art of Marriage" The second which was done right after the unity sand ceremony and before our pronouncement was definitely more silly and light-hearted - "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss. It was awesome and everyone loved it! This is the version that we did -

http://weddingcabaret.blogspot.com/2009/04/ceremony-reading-oh-places-youll-go-by.html?m=1

I can't wait to watch this thread! I hadn't heard the "Lovely Love Story" before but adore it.

I really love the passage from "The Amber Spyglass" (such a good book!):

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’ll 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.”

Unfortunately, I think that will be too lovey for the FH.

I'm looking at the passage from CS Lewis on love and fairy tales (because it's more realistic, and I think we'll cut out the Christian part just because we aren't super religious), and the good ol' velveteen rabbit.

ALSO, I'm pretty sure we can't have a CS Lewis and a Philip Pullman reading in the same wedding without looking bipolar.

My favorite readings came from:

http://www.firstunitarianottawa.ca/uploads/2/1/0/6/21068182/newest_wedding_booklet_130909.pdf they have tons of unique and personal ones.

I also like kids books that are read. Example: I like you http://www.amazon.com/Like-You-Sandol-Stoddard-Warburg/dp/0395071763

I know I am biased but I think our readings are pretty BA (listed below).

1. Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli'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 eternal passion. 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. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

2. Massachusetts State Supreme Court definition of marriage

To choose the person one loves is a natural right; to marry is a civil right, and so it should be for everyone. Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition. K and P will now speak about their love for one another.

3. Humanist Wedding Ceremony

Today P and K proclaim their love to the world, and we rejoice with and for them. In marriage, we give ourselves freely and generously into the hands of the one we love, and in doing so, each of us receives the love and trust of the other as our most precious gift. But even as that gift is shared by two people who are in love, it also touches the friends and family members who, in various ways, support and contribute to the relationship. All of you constitute K and P’s community, and each of you has played some part in bringing them to this moment. K and P are now taking a new form as a married couple, and in this form they will become part of our community in a new way.

4. Read Response: Will you who are present here today, surround this couple in love, offering them the joys of your friendship? (we will) Will you support this couple in their relationship? (we will) At times of conflict or struggle will you offer them the strength of your wisest counsel and the comfort of your thoughtful concern? (we will) At times of joy, will you celebrate with them, nourishing their love for one another? (we will)

5. May I have the rings?

This is the point in the ceremony where we usually talk about the wedding bands being a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But we all know that these rings do have a beginning. These rings were made by rock being dug up from the earth. Metal was liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees, then molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished. Something beautiful was made from raw elements. Love is like that.

It's hot, dirty work. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings. It's the process of hard work, patience, and creativity that develops into something that is considered priceless by these two incredible people. P and K acknowledge that hard work, patience, and creativity may be needed to maintain the love they feel on this special day.

With these rings P and K promise to accept one another's imperfections and recognize each others beauty.

6. First Unitarian Church Reading

They marry each other with a ring, a ring of bright water,

whose ripples travel from the heart of the sea. They marry each

other with a ring of light, the glitter broadcast on the swift river.

They marry each other with the sun’s circle, too dazzling to see,

traced in the summer sky, with a love that propels the orbit of the

moon, and with the boundless circle of the stars. This is a

marriage to set tides flowing and command the winds to travel or

be at rest.

7. First Unitarian Church

Out of this tangled world, these two souls have joined together, bound with the swiftsure bonds of love. Their destinies shall now be woven of one design, and their perils and their joys shall not be known apart. As they increase in mutual understanding, may their joy stand victoriously against the storm of circumstances which beats impartially at all our doors. From the rich encouragement of their affection may they complete the unfinished pattern of their true selves. Even as they have chosen each other from the world’s multitudes, so let the days and years,

now veiled by time, deepen the joy of that choice, and make it abidingly true.

We aren't using this but I like it!

From The Irrational Season By Madeleine L'Engle

But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take.If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected

Also: http://offbeatbride.com/2011/05/wedding-readings-from-childrens-books

Northern MN- Us MN girls think alike. I LOVE everything about your ceremony.... and am stealing your ring ceremony wording. Sorry If we can't find anything else, I think we are going with Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin. That is our favorite reading we have found so far.

Http://www.pinterest.com/Celiamilton/wedding-vows-and-readings/

There are almost 300 readings and vows here, most of them secular and some of them very surprising.

I like the Corelli's Mandolin reading too; a lot of my couples pick it.

Here are some of my faves;

I want to tell you, again, I love you. Our love has been the thread through the labyrinth, the net under the high-wire walker, the only real thing in this strange life of mine that I could ever trust. Tonight I feel that my love for you has more density in this world than I do, myself: as though it could linger on after me and surround you, keep you, hold you. Right now we are here, and nothing can mar our perfection, or steal the joy of this perfect moment.” From The Time Traveler’s Wife


I hereby give myself. I love you. You are the only being whom I can love absolutely with my complete self, with all my flesh and mind and heart. You are my mate; my perfect partner, and I am yours. You must feel this now, as I do. It was a marvel that we ever met. It is some kind of divine luck that we are together now. As we look at each other we verify, we know, the perfection of our love, we recognize each other. Here is my life. (Iris Murdoch)

OR

“Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of loving moments that take our breath away.

You can have those moments. You just have to get over the jitters and let the dreams show you the way. Tie your kite to reality… check your gut whenever it says “hey, wait”… take action when the time is right… remember and treasure what life shows you… but don’t ever stand in the way of what you really love.

As far as we can tell, dreams are nothing more than love trying to take wing and soar. Imagine for just a moment, the thrilling, distracting, wonderful, odd, unusual sensation of new love. You immediately begin dreaming of life together… of where you will go… of what life will mean for the two of you. Live in that moment every day. Fall in love with new ideas, new opportunities, and new places all the time. Trust it, live it, don’t say no to love or crush a dream that wants to live. It isn’t that hard to give yourself over to it. You just have to say yes to life and love. Love will never lead you astray.

Will you live an unusual life together? Will you live the life you love? We all hope so. Anyone with a heart filled by dreams is already halfway there. So breathe deep. Jump in. Swim, or just float on the rivers of life, of laughter and love. “ Melinda and bob Blanchard, authors and entrepreneurs

OR

"As you are the Moon of his life, he shall be your Sun and Stars. Your love shall be as ever present as those two celestial bodies... even though they are sometimes hidden from one another's sight. Your love will be the guiding force that charts the course of your tomorrows, holds your world together in difficult times and will make life itself shine bolder and brighter than we human beings have a right to dream of." From George RR Martin’s “Game of Thrones”

@Future_Mrs_D Glad you liked the readings! Fun that your using the Ring part...I rewrote a bit of the original reading to make it work better for the ring ceremony.

I spent some of the VERY long snowy winter looking up readings to find the ones I liked best. Hopefully the links and the readings are using will save you some time.

Here is our non-religious reading. I absolutely love it (biased lol) and it makes me tear up just reading it. I cannot wait to hear my godfather read it for us on our wedding day!

Blessing of the Hands

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever.

These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future.

These are the hands that will 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 hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.

These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.

And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

Future_Mrs_D it was so fun seeing this used in your BAM.

I needed help, and you delivered!!!!!

Northern MN, we also borrowed your ring ceremony wording and it was absolutely breathtaking. Thanks!