21 Unique & Unexpected Wedding Readings (Non Religious Ceremonies)

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” Corinthians 13:4

Sound familiar? If you’ve been to a wedding in the past, well, ever, you may have heard this exact phrase repeated in one of the wedding readings during the ceremony. Now don’t get us wrong, this reading is a beautiful and timeless sentiment about love and its incredible power, it just feels a little old. 

Whoever says the planning process is mainly discussions on your wedding budget and potential wedding vendors? Between the exchange of wedding rings and the wedding bands there are many heartfelt sentiments that are exchanged as well!

Do you and your fiancé(e) march to the beat of your own drum? Then having your nearest and dearest recite the usual suspects at your wedding just won't do. So forget those Shakespeare quotes and that Irish Blessing everyone knows by heart, and get a little more creative with your wedding ceremony readings!

There is tons of inspiration for wedding readings out there; after all, a good reading can come from anywhere. You may already have an idea of what you might want to say, or you’re just getting started and reading every common passage that you can find. Either way, we’ve got you covered!

There are plenty of things to consider when you’re choosing a wedding reading: what kind of ceremony you’re having, what kind of atmosphere the ceremony will have, what you want to convey. However, this can mean that it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what wedding readings you want as part of your big day, whether in the ceremony itself or elsewhere.

Think about what makes you and your partner tick, whether that's music or books or something else entirely, and then look to your favorite song lyrics, poems, novels, or even popular children’s books for inspiration (stay tuned for a wedding reading selection from “The Velveteen Rabbit!). Your wedding readings don’t have to be something you read every day, but they should feel right. Wedding readings can be anything that you want them to be, as long as you feel they are an authentic representation of your partnership and your love.

Not sure where you want to start? Well, let’s first talk about what a wedding reading actually is. In a religious wedding ceremony, wedding readings may come from a religious text and be read by the officiant themselves or couples can choose loved ones to read them. However, if you’re not having a religiously-affiliated wedding ceremony, you can have a little bit more flexibility in your choice of texts. 

A wedding reading can be anything that you feel expresses how you feel about your partner or vice versa. It’s simply part of the celebratory process of the wedding ceremony, so it doesn’t have to be religiously tied. Wedding readings can really be anything that you want, as long as you feel like they fit you and your partnership and your ceremony style.

However, you should know that if you are having a religious ceremony, you might not be able to include everything you had in mind. Talk to your officiant and see if there are any restrictions on readings before you get your heart set on one. You may be able to see if there’s a way to include one wedding reading that you feel strongly about in other parts of your ceremony or wedding day.

Readings at weddings help express how you feel for one another and are an element of the wedding ceremony where you typically have some freedom to say what you want, albeit romantic in your own way. One person may feel strongly about including one passage or another, so make sure that the readings you select are representative of both of you!

At the end of the day, a wedding reading (or ceremony readings as they might also be called) is a time where either you, your officiant, or a family member or friend can read a passage or two that helps represent to your guests how you feel about one another. It is another way to make the ceremony unique, especially when you choose readings that may not have been done before. This way, you get to highlight your love and maybe your favorite author, too. 

Although, you may not need a wedding planner for this particular part of the wedding planning process, you will need to keep in contact with the officiant when deciding on a proper reading, especially if you plan on having a traditional religious marriage ceremony.

This is an important question, mostly because if you have a hard number in mind, it will be easier to narrow down the immense amount of material out there. Typically, we would say stick to two or maybe three, depending on their length. Remember that as obsessed as you are with these selections, your guests do want to go home at some point, and after three readings during the wedding ceremony, we think they’ll get the point. 

Again, this might be a time to check in with your officiant. Different types and traditions of weddings may call for different wedding ceremony readings, and they may dictate a number as well. Also, remember to check in with your partner and decide what the structure of your ceremony will look like and then how readings may fit into it. 

Since wedding readings vary so much in length, it may be easier to stick to a specific time for your readings rather than the quantity. Try to keep the readings between one and three minutes, and get as many or as few readings into that time as you’d like. 

If you’re really struggling because you have some readings that you really want to include but don’t have time for in the ceremony, think about other ways to include them in your wedding day. Quotes on invitations, decorations, or even as a toast just before you cut the cake are great places to highlight elements of wedding readings. One of the many places you could add your favorite quotes or readings is to your wedding website, these quotes could potentially help convey your wedding style.

It can be really overwhelming to look for wedding readings when you aren’t having a religious ceremony. So much of the information that’s out there is related to specific religious ceremonies, and those ceremony readings are often dictated by the spiritual or faith-based practice you are engaging in. 

But fear not! There are plenty of wedding readings out there that have no religious ties or are secular enough to fit any sort of wedding tradition. Readings for weddings don’t even have to be particularly serious, as long as they feel authentic and clearly express your emotions. 

Too often, the idea of “ceremony readings” gets equated with something somber or (we have to admit it) kind of boring. Your wedding readings can really fit any sort of tone that your wedding ceremony has. Whether it’s reflective and passionate or fun and a little silly, your readings should just be another way to connect with one another and commit yourselves to a life together. 

This means that you can really pull wedding readings from anywhere; it doesn’t have to be from a book or a poem. Maybe you have a favorite TV show or movie that you feel represents what you and your partner want to be; those lines that you quote to each other can be made into wedding readings as well. 

A hint of wedding inspiration on how to tie these readings into your destination wedding or the wedding venue itself would be to do a little research. See if any well known authors or poets lived or wrote in the area (or even if a movie happened to be filmed at the same location of your wedding) and find a quote or reading that is synchronous with how you both feel.

Wondering how to pick a wedding reading that’s perfect for you and your partner? Here are some unique wedding ceremony readings to get you started:

If I could save time in a bottle

The first thing that I'd like to do

Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away

Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever

If words could make wishes come true

I'd save every day like a treasure, and then

Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do once you find them

I've looked around enough to know

That you're the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes

And dreams that had never come true

The box would be empty

Except for the memory of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do once you find them

I've looked around enough to know

That you're the one I want to go through time with

There is no combination of words

I could put on the back of a postcard

No song that I could sing

But I can try for your heart

Our dreams

And they are made out of real things

Like a shoebox of photographs

With sepia-toned loving

Love is the answer at least

For most of the questions in my heart

Like why are we here? And where do we go?

And how come it's so hard?

It's not always easy

And sometimes life can be deceiving

I'll tell you one thing

It's always better when we're together

Mmm, it's always better when we're together

Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together

Well, it's always better when we're together

Yeah, it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments just might find

Their way into my dreams tonight

But I know that they'll be gone

When the morning light sings

And brings new things

For tomorrow night you see

That they'll be gone too

Too many things I have to do

But if all of these dreams might find

Their way into my day to day scene

I'd be under the impression

I was somewhere in between

With only two just me and you

Not so many things we got to do

Or places we got to be

We'll sit beneath the mango tree now

Yeah, it's always better when we're together

Mmm, we're somewhere in between together

Well, it's always better when we're together

Yeah, it's always better when we're together

I believe in memories

They look so, so pretty when I sleep

Hey now, and when I wake up

You look so pretty sleeping next to me

But there is not enough time

And there is no, no song I could sing

And there is no combination of words I could say

But I will still tell you one thing

We're better together

On cold winter nights, love is warm.

It lies between you and lives and breathes

and makes funny noises.

Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.

It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.

Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.

But come home and love is always happy to see you.

It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,

but you can never be mad at love for long.

Is love good all the time? No! No!

Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.

Love makes messes.

Love leaves you little surprises here and there.

Love needs lots of cleaning up after.

Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.

Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper

and swat love on the nose,

not so much to cause pain,

just to let love know, "Don't you ever do that again!"

Sometimes love just wants to go out for a nice long walk.

Because love loves exercise. It will run you around the block

and leave you panting, breathless. Pull you in different directions

at once, or wind itself around and around you

until you're all wound up and you cannot move.

But love makes you meet people wherever you go.

People who have nothing in common but love

stop and talk to each other on the street.

Throw things away and love will bring them back,

again, and again, and again.

But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.

And in return, love loves you and never stops.

I love you,

Not only for what you are,

But for what I am

When I am with you.

I love you,

Not only for what

You have made of yourself,

But for what

You are making of me.

I love you

For the part of me

That you bring out;

I love you

For putting your hand

Into my heaped-up heart

And passing over

All the foolish, weak things

That you can't help

Dimly seeing there,

And for drawing out

Into the light

All the beautiful belongings

That no one else had looked

Quite far enough to find.

When your legs don't work like they used to before

And I can't sweep you off of your feet

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

And, darling, I will

Be loving you 'til we're 70

And, baby, my heart

Could still fall as hard at 23

And I'm thinking 'bout how

People fall in love in mysterious ways

Maybe just the touch of a hand

Well me, I fall in love with you every single day

And I just wanna tell you I am

So, honey, now

Take me into your loving arms

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

Place your head on my beating heart

I'm thinking out loud

Maybe we found love right where we are

When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades

And the crowds don't remember my name

When my hands don't play the strings the same way, mhm

I know you will still love me the same

'Cause, honey, your soul

Could never grow old, it's evergreen

And, baby, your smile's

Forever in my mind and memory

I'm thinking 'bout how

People fall in love in mysterious ways

And maybe it's all part of a plan

Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes

Hoping that you'll understand

That, baby, now

Take me into your loving arms

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

Place your head on my beating heart

I'm thinking out loud

And maybe we found love right where we are

So, baby, now

Take me into your loving arms

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart

I'm thinking out loud

That maybe we found love right where we are

Oh, baby, we found love right where we are

And we found love right where we are

Love is divine only and difficult always.

If you think it is easy you are a fool.

If you think it is natural you are blind.

It is a learned application

without reason or motive

except that it is God.

You do not deserve love

regardless of the suffering

you have endured.

You do not deserve love

because somebody did you wrong.

You do not deserve love

just because you want it.

You can only earn — by practice

and careful contemplations —

the right to express it

and you have to learn how to accept it.

Which is to say

you have to earn God.

You have to practice God.

You have to think God-carefully.

And if you are a good and diligent student

you may secure the right to show love.

Love is not a gift.

It is a diploma.

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz, 

or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:

I love you as one loves certain obscure things, 

secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries

the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,

and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose

from the earth lives dimly in my body. 

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,

I love you directly without problems or pride:

I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,

except in this form in which I am not nor are you,

so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,

so close that your eyes close with my dreams.

To love is not to possess,

To own or imprison,

Nor to lose one's self in another.

Love is to join and separate,

To walk alone and together,

To find a laughing freedom

That lonely isolation does not permit.

It is finally to be able

To be who we really are

No longer clinging in childish dependency

Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,

It is to be perfectly one's self

And perfectly joined in permanent commitment

To another–and to one's inner self.

Love only endures when it moves like waves,

Receding and returning gently or passionately,

Or moving lovingly like the tide

In the moon's own predictable harmony,

Because finally, despite a child's scars

Or an adult's deepest wounds,

They are openly free to be

Who they really are–and always secretly were,

In the very core of their being

Where true and lasting love can alone abide.

Do you still remember: falling stars,

how they leapt slantwise through the sky

like horses over suddenly held-out hurdles

of our wishes—did we have so many?—

for stars, innumerable, leapt everywhere;

almost every gaze upward became

wedded to the swift hazard of their play,

and our heart felt like a single thing 

beneath that vast disintegration of their brilliance—

and was whole, as if it would survive them! 

We, unaccustomed to courage

exiles from delight

live coiled in shells of loneliness

until love leaves its high holy temple

and comes into our sight

to liberate us into life.

Love arrives

and in its train come ecstasies

old memories of pleasure

ancient histories of pain.

Yet if we are bold,

love strikes away the chains of fear

from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity

In the flush of love's light

we dare be brave

And suddenly we see

that love costs all we are

and will ever be.

Yet it is only love

which sets us free.

People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is a postcard glimpse of a floodlit statue or a skyline. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.

Let the bough break, let it come down crashing

Let the sun fade out to a dark sky

I can't say I'd even notice it was absent

'Cause I could live by the light in your eyes

I'll unfold before you

What I have strung together

The very first words of a lifelong love letter

Tell the world that we finally got it all right

I choose you

I will become yours and you will become mine

I choose you

I choose you

There was a time when I would have believed them

If they told me that you could not come true

Just love's illusion

But then you found me and everything changed

And I believe in something again

My whole heart

Will be yours forever

This is a beautiful start

To a lifelong love letter

Tell the world that we finally got it all right

I choose you

I will become yours and you will become mine

I choose you

I choose you

We are not perfect 

We'll learn from our mistakes

And as long as it takes 

I will prove my love to you

I am not scared of the elements 

I am underprepared, but I am willing

And even better

I get to be the other half of you

Tell the world that we finally got it all right

I choose you

I will become yours and you will become mine

I choose you

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

He’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.

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. 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 never going to sleep angry.

It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.

It is standing together facing the world.

It is forming a circle of love that gathers the whole family.

It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.

It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow old.

It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

"At best, it's a happy delusion—these two people who truly love each other and have no idea how truly miserable they're about to make each other. But, but, when two people know that, and they decide with eyes wide open to face each other and get married anyway, then I don't think it's conservative or delusional. I think it's radical and courageous and very romantic."

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)                                                                   

I wanna make you smile whenever you’re sad

Carry you around when your arthritis is bad 

All I wanna do is grow old with you. 

I’ll get your medicine when your tummy aches

build you a fire when the furnace breaks

Oh, it could be so nice, growing old with you. 

I’ll miss you, kiss you, give you my coat when you are cold. 

Need you, feed you, I’ll even let you hold the remote control. 

So let me do the dishes in the kitchen sink 

Put you to bed when you’ve had too much to drink. 

Oh I could be the man to grow old with you. 

I wanna grow old with you. 

What I’m feeling, I think, is joy. And it’s been some time since I 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 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 of you, a pearl among the 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 an ice cream cone. The flavor of grace.

From that moment of yes until this moment of Yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or on long walks—all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”—those late-night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”—and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of wedding. 

The symbolic vows you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed—well, I meant it all, every word.”

Catch hands now and face one another to make your vows. 

Look at one another—remember this moment in time. 

Before this moment you have been many things to one another—acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last three years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never be quite the same between you. 

If the old fairy-tale ending ‘They lived happily ever after’ is taken to mean ‘They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married’, then it says what probably never was nor ever would be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be ‘in love’ need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense—love as distinct from ‘being in love’— is not merely a feeling. It is deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace by which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be ‘in love’ with someone else. ‘Being in love’ first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it. 

Traditionally, wedding readings often come from religious texts, particularly the Bible in Western cultures. However, the Bible is a long book and there’s more than a few wedding readings in there, so we also want to recognize that it’s possible to want to be untraditional and celebrate your faith as well. Whether it is due to you or your partner’s spiritual practice or just a connection with the Bible as an incredibly powerful text, the Bible offers plenty of options for wedding readings.

There are, quite obviously, lots of Biblical wedding readings out there, like the Corithians passage on love that we began this article with. However, if you want to branch out a bit from what’s been used over and over again, there are plenty of unique wedding readings for you to choose from. 

Again, it shouldn’t matter where you source your readings for your wedding ceremony. If choosing wedding readings from the Bible most accurately represents your love for one another, you should feel completely comfortable doing so. A wedding reading from the Bible can be short or long, so you are guaranteed to find something that fits. 

If you’re looking for some wedding ceremony readings from the Bible that help you express your love and maybe haven’t been done before, check out the following 11 Bible passages that you can use for your wedding day and every day after. 

Place me like a seal over your heart, 

like a seal on your arm, 

for love is as strong as death, 

its jealousy unyielding as the grave. 

It burns like blazing fire, 

like a mighty flame. 

Many waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot sweep it away. 

If one were to give

all the wealth of one’s house for love, 

it would be utterly scorned. 

Two are better than one, 

because they have a good return for their labor:

If either of them falls down, 

one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

and has no one to help them up. 

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. 

But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves. 

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. 

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very word of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength that God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter:

whoever finds one has found a treasure. 

Faithful friends are beyond price;

no amount can balance their worth.

Faithful friends are life-saving medicine;

and those who fear the Lord will find them. 

Those who fear the Lord direct their friendship aright, 

for as they are, so are their neighbors also.

If you and your soon to be spouse are still having trouble deciding on specific readings, some feedback from your wedding party and immediate family members won't hurt and could in fact help! The best time for all of you to go over them to see if they fit well prior to the wedding date is during the rehearsal dinner.

Remember that you could use some of these quotes and readings during any of your pre wedding events such as the bridal and engagement party so you don't have to jam them all into your big day.