Choosing Your Wedding Readings

crondon_outdoor_image

Tips For Non-Religious Ceremony Readings

Add some sentiment to your wedding ceremony with these beautiful non-religious reading ideas.

A non-religious wedding ceremony can include a poignant reading, delivered by a loved one during the service. The idea is to choose an extract or poem where the words truly resonate with you as a couple and convey what your togetherness as a couple means to you. In a church ceremony, there are many lessons from the Bible that would be appropriate for such an occasion, but with a civil ceremony you have a wealth of alternative options to choose from.

Speak To Your Wedding Coordinator

If you’ve decided that you’d like to incorporate a reading into your ceremony, then your first step should be to discuss this with your wedding venue in Essex coordinator. We will be able to provide guidance about how best to fit this into your service and the available options for non-religious readings.

Deciding Who Will Deliver The Reading

Before you choose the reading itself, it can be useful to consider who you might like to read. Of course, they also need to be willing to stand up in front of your guests, with the confidence to speak, on what could be an emotional day for them. Some of the most able public speakers might not be able to find their voice if it’s drowned out by tears of happiness. Once you’ve found the perfect candidate, try to tailor your reading towards them. If your best man is a bit of a joker, then it might not be best to arm him with a sonnet. Whilst if you’ve chosen for an older family member to read, it might be wise to go for something brief.

Extracts From Plays or Books

There are some truly beautiful readings available from famous plays and books. Many couples opt for ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ by Louis de Bernieres which begins ‘When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then it subsides’.  Others choose ‘The Bridge Across Forever’ by Richard Bach, starting ‘A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys and keys to fit our locks.’ The popularity of these extracts means that some of your guests may have heard them at other weddings as they do tend to crop up quite regularly. If this bothers you, then you may want to conduct some more personalised research into finding a reading that is more unique to you as a couple.

Extracts From Poems

Poems have the advantage of being short and sweet which will help to keep your guests’ attention whilst offering brevity for the reader. There is also something incredibly romantic and timeless about hearing the spoken words of ‘Scaffolding’ by Seamus Heaney or ‘The Vow’ by Wendy Cope during your nuptials. If you have opted for a poem though, make sure that the reader is confident with the rhythm and intonation required to deliver the reading, as this can affect the flow somewhat.

If you’re finding it hard to decide which reading to go for, then try to narrow it down to a shortlist. It may even be possible to select two readings for different points of your ceremony and this can also be a lovely way to include two special people in your day. Get in touch with your wedding coordinator to discuss your ceremony ideas in more detail.