Wedding Readings & Quotes You’ll Actually Love
No cheese. No cringe. Just heartfelt, funny, and beautifully real.
When it comes to wedding readings, so many couples say the same thing:
“We want something meaningful, but not too soppy… funny, but not silly… and definitely not anything that’s been read at 900 other weddings.”
Sound familiar?
As a Celebrant, I totally get it. Your ceremony should feel like you – full of your personality, your humour, and your kind of love.
Most of my suggestions for couple come a few months after we start chatting, but here’s a handpicked collection of wedding readings and quotes that don’t suck, whether you’re after something romantic, funny, offbeat, or just a little bit magical.
Short & Sweet
Non Cheesy Shorty Ones
“You are my favourite notification.” – Unknown
“I love you more than coffee, but please don’t make me prove it.” – Elizabeth Evans
“Home is wherever I’m with you.” – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
“You are my today and all of my tomorrows.” – Leo Christopher
“We are all a little weird… and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” – Dr Seuss
“I would find you in any lifetime.” – Kanye West (yes, really!)
“All I Know About Love” by Neil Gaiman (excerpt)
This is everything I have to tell you about love: nothing.
This is everything I’ve learned about marriage: nothing.
Only that the world out there is complicated, and there are beasts in the night, and delight and pain, and the only thing that makes it bearable is each other.
“Union” by Robert Fulghum (excerpt)
A good marriage must be created.
In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once a day.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
“A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Monkton (abridged)
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…
(It’s sweet, funny, and surprisingly deep – perfect for couple storytelling.)
A Funny But Feel-Good Option
TV, Film or Song Lyrics (That Aren’t Overdone)
“He Never Leaves the Seat Up” by Anon
He never leaves the seat up
Or wets the bathroom floor.
He always shuts the wardrobe door,
He’s courteous and polite.
He thanks me for the things I do,
He buys me flowers and wine…
He never criticises me
Or says I look a fright…
But I don’t know this person,
I must be in the wrong house.
“I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.” – Arwen, The Lord of the Rings
“You’re my end and my beginning, even when I lose I’m winning.” – All of Me, John Legend
“Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can’t help falling in love with you.” – Elvis Presley
“I like you and I know why.” – Mo Willems, I Like You
The best reading is one that feels like you. Whether it makes people laugh, cry, or nudge the person next to them and say “that’s so them”, that’s what you’re aiming for.
And if you need help choosing one, writing something original, or involving your guests in creative ways, that’s exactly what a Celebrant can help you do.
Want to chat more about creating a ceremony that’s fun, real and totally yours? Give me a shout
