Sweet, Secular Wedding Readings We Love

If you want to include meaningful and smart reflections on marriage in your wedding ceremony, but you aren't religious, you still have a vast array of readings to choose from. Books, speeches, and poems are great places to start, so consider your favorite novels or movies during your planning. If you need a little inspiration, browse some of our favorite secular readings below.From Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey Photo by Asad Photo Maldives from PexelsWhat I'm feeling, I think, is joy. And it's been some time since I've felt that blinkered rush of happiness. This might be one of those rare events that lasts, one that'll be remembered and recalled as months and years wind and ravel. One of those sweet, significant moments that leaves a footprint in your mind. A photograph couldn't ever tell its story. It's like something you have to live to understand. One of those freak collisions of fizzing meteors and looming celestial bodies and floating debris and one single beautiful red ball that bursts into your life and through your body like an enormous firework. Where things shift into focus for a moment, and everything makes sense. And it becomes one of those things inside you, a pearl among sludge, one of those big exaggerated memories you can invoke at any moment to peel away a little layer of how you felt, like a lick of ice cream. The flavor of grace.From the Massachusetts Supreme Court's Decision to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage:Photo by Olya Kobruseva from PexelsMarriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support.Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family. Because it fulfils 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.It is undoubtedly for these concrete reasons, as well as for its intimately personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a "civil right." Without the right to choose to marry one is excluded from the full range of human experience.Proud by Louise WilsonAs I approach the dark, wooden open doors,
As I hear the music start to play,
A rush of excitable nerves take my fear,
As I remember what it took to get to this day.Hiding beneath a display of friendship,
Creating a web of lies,
Not knowing everyone was watching me fall in love,
The love in my heart shining through my eyes.Defeating opinions and comments shared,
Telling everyone, I am in love!
My heart taken by a beautiful woman,
For once, love is enough.So here I am today,
Walking towards you so very proud,
I am in awe as I only see your beauty,
Can't hear the music nor see the crowd.I take your hand in mine,
How we fit so perfect, so cleverly,
By far the most perfect day in my life,
Our proud civil ceremony.He's Not Perfect by Bob MarleyHe's not perfect. You aren't either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn't going to quote poetry, he's not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don't hurt him, don't change him, and don't expect for more than he can give. Don't analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don't exist, but there's always one guy that is perfect for you.From Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Photo by Ylanite Koppens from PexelsI have for the first time found what I can truly love — I have found you. You are my sympathy — my better self — my good angel; I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence about you — and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.I Rely on You by Hovis Presley Unsplash.comI rely on you
like a Skoda needs suspension
like the aged need a pension
like a trampoline needs tension
like a bungee jump needs apprehensionI rely on you
like a camera needs a shutter
like a gambler needs a flutter
like a golfer needs a putter
like a buttered scone involves some butterI rely on you
like an acrobat needs ice cool nerve
like a hairpin needs a drastic curve
like an HGV needs endless derv
like an outside left needs a body swerveI rely on you
like a handyman needs pliers
like an auctioneer needs buyers
like a laundromat needs driers
like The Good Life needed Richard BriersI rely on you
like a water vole needs water
like a brick outhouse needs mortar
like a lemming to the slaughter
Ryan's just Ryan without his daughter
I rely on you