Readings during the ceremony?

Lilith1980

Hi all, is anyone having any readings during the ceremony?

I can't remember where, but I came across a site which had some alternative readings and I like this poem by Pam Ayres:

Yes, I’ll marry you, my dear.
And here’s the reason why.
So I can push you out of bed
When the baby starts to cry.
And if we hear a knocking
And it’s creepy and it’s late,
I hand you the torch you see,
And you investigate.

Yes I’ll marry you, my dear,
You may not apprehend it,
But when the tumble-drier goes
It’s you that has to mend it.
You have to face the neighbour
Should our labrador attack him,
And if a drunkard fondles me
It’s you that has to whack him.

Yes, I’ll marry you,
You’re virile and you’re lean,
My house is like a pigsty
You can help to keep it clean.
That sexy little dinner
Which you served by candlelight,
As I do chipolatas,
You can cook it every night!!!

It’s you who has to work the drill
And put up curtain track,
And when I’ve got PMT it’s you who gets the flak,
I do see great advantages,
But none of them for you,
And so before you see the light,
I DO, I DO, I DO!!

I just thought it might be something a little different, and light-hearted, to have at the registry office. Not sure who I'd get to read it though??

What are other people planning?

74jax

We're having a close friend read this which I've changed quite a bit from a Pam Ayres one, but used it as a base:

He always leaves the seat up, and leaves sand upon the floor,
She always finishes the milk, and never locks the car door!

She’s always dusting and cleaning, is always looking to improve,
He could leave things out at his peril, but in a second she'll have them moved.

He’s a very active person, and is always at the beach,
Whereas she likes lazy days, with a cocktail within her reach.

She’s thoughtful when she looks at him - a smile upon her face,
Will he look that good in 20 years, when he has no hair in place?

He says he loves her figure, and her mental prowess too,
But when gravity takes over, can she charm him with her IQ?

They’re both not wholly perfect, but who are we to judge,
He can be so pig headed, and she won’t even budge!

All that said and done, they really love each other,
And I'm sure as you all are, that their love will last forever.

He’ll be more than just her husband, he’ll also be her friend,
And she’ll be more than just his wife, she’ll drive him round the bend.

I remember now why we are here, to watch them take their vow,
This poem is for XXX and XXX, I'll let you get married now.

ellay864

A friend wrote one for us - probably no point pasting as it had so many references specific to us I'd be amazed if anybody else could even think of using it! But we also had The Key to Love:

The key to love is understanding...
The ability to comprehend not only the spoken word,
but those unspoken gestures,
the little things that say so much by themselves.

The key to love is forgiveness...
to accept each others faults and pardon mistakes,
without forgetting, but with remembering
what you learn from them.

The key to love is sharing...
Facing your good fortunes as well as the bad, together;
both conquering problems, forever searching for ways
to intensify your happiness.

The key to love is giving...
without thought of return,
but with the hope of just a simple smile,
and by giving in but never giving up.

The key to love is respect...
realising that you are two separate people, with different ideas;
that you don't belong to each other,
that you belong with each other, and share a mutual bond.

The key to love is inside us all...
It takes time and patience to unlock all the ingredients
that will take you to its threshold;
it is the continual learning process that demands a lot of work...
but the rewards are more than worth the effort...
and that is the key to love.

laura_hoggle

We are planning on having that same Pam Ayres poem, Lilith. I remember my mum liking Pam Ayres and reading some of her poems to me as a child. I have already asked one of my friends to read it, and she loves it. One of OH's friends is reading another one, but off the top of my head can't remember which one!!!

Lilith1980

Thanks for these, they are lovely poems

I was thining of asking a friend I have known for about 6 years. We don't see each other very often at all, and probably only meet once a year, but when we do it's like catching up where we left off. I was wondering about whether to ask her as there is no one else I'd rather do it.

Might have to change the reference to babies though, as OH and I are not having children. I might change it to "When the cat begins to cry" just because our kitty calls up to us in the morning to go down and feed him :rotfl:

mummybearx

We had The One. It was the only reading at our wedding. I asked my best friend to read it for us. Turned out to be a comedy moment, poor Gill got up to read, started the first line and messed it up :rotfl: We have some cracking photos of us all bursting out laughing lol!

When the one whose hand you're holding
Is the one one who holds your heart
When the one whose eyes you gaze into
Gives your hopes and dreams their start,
When the one you think of first and last
Is the one who holds you tight,
And the things you plan together
Make the whole world seem just right,
When the one whom you believe in
puts their faith and trust in you,
You've found the one and only love
You'll share your whole life through

Faith177

We too are having the Pam Ayres poem I think it's great.

We are change labrador to husky though as we have two husky pups

I still would like one more reading that is from OH to me as I feel this poem is more me to him lol

stir_crazy

We had three,

On Your Wedding Day

The Lovely Other Dinosaur and

All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarden

jtr2803

I am having readings, one is a surprise from my daughter and the other is adapted from something written by a famous musician. I like some of the ones mentioned here but I could never use them because everyone knows someone who had Pam Ayres/pooh/dinosaur/lovely !!!!! etc and then it's not personal anymore (please don't take offense to that, I just have issues with having things that other people I know or my guests know have had).

I am writing my own amusing poem to be read at our meal after the ceremony and we are writing our own vows to each other.

Idiophreak

We had corinthians:
"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."

We had Stardust:

"You know when I said I knew little about love? That wasn't true. I know a lot about love. I've seen it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate... It made me want to turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind loves... You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and... What I'm trying to say, Tristan is... I think I love you. Is this love, Tristan? I never imagined I'd know it for myself. My heart... It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it's trying to escape because it doesn't belong to me anymore. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange no gifts. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine."

And we had Ogden Nash, which was very "us":
"One kind of person when catching a train always wants to allow an hour to cover the ten-block trip to the terminus,
And the other kind looks at them as if they were verminous,
And the second kind says that five minutes is plenty and will even leave one minute over for buying the tickets,
And the first kind looks at them as if they had cerebral rickets.
One kind when theater-bound sups lightly at six and hastens off to the play,
And indeed I know one such person who is so such that it frequently arrives in time for the last act of the matinee,
And the other kind sits down at eight to a meal that is positively sumptuous,
Observing cynically that an eight-thirty curtain never rises till eight-forty, an observation which is less cynical than bumptious.
And what the first kind, sitting uncomfortably in the waiting room while the train is made up in the yards, can never understand,
Is the injustice of the second kind's reaching their scat just as the train moves out, just as they had planned,
And what the second kind cannot understand as they stumble over the first kind's heel just as the footlights flash on at last
Is that the first kind doesn't feel the least bit foolish at having entered the theater before the cast.
Oh, the first kind always wants to start now and the second kind always wants to tarry,
Which wouldn't make any difference, except that each other is what they always marry."

angel11

Idiophreak wrote: »

And we had Ogden Nash, which was very "us":
"One kind of person when catching a train always wants to allow an hour to cover the ten-block trip to the terminus,
And the other kind looks at them as if they were verminous,
And the second kind says that five minutes is plenty and will even leave one minute over for buying the tickets,
And the first kind looks at them as if they had cerebral rickets.
One kind when theater-bound sups lightly at six and hastens off to the play,
And indeed I know one such person who is so such that it frequently arrives in time for the last act of the matinee,
And the other kind sits down at eight to a meal that is positively sumptuous,
Observing cynically that an eight-thirty curtain never rises till eight-forty, an observation which is less cynical than bumptious.
And what the first kind, sitting uncomfortably in the waiting room while the train is made up in the yards, can never understand,
Is the injustice of the second kind's reaching their scat just as the train moves out, just as they had planned,
And what the second kind cannot understand as they stumble over the first kind's heel just as the footlights flash on at last
Is that the first kind doesn't feel the least bit foolish at having entered the theater before the cast.
Oh, the first kind always wants to start now and the second kind always wants to tarry,
Which wouldn't make any difference, except that each other is what they always marry."

Love this soooo much - is def me & the OH (I'm the 1 that's always early btw lol)