Suggestions for a wedding reading for an 11 year old please

wiogs

GobbledyGook wrote: »

A Good Wedding Cake

4lb of love
1/2lb of sweet temper

1lb of butter of youth

1lb of blindness of faults

1lb of pounded wit

1lb of good humour

2lbs of sweet argument

1 pint of rippling laughter

1 wine glass of common sense

A dash of modesty

Put the love, good looks and a sweet temper into a well-furnished house. Beat the butter of youth into a cream and mix well together with the blindness of faults. Stir the pounded wit and good humour into the sweet argument, then add the rippling laughter and common sense. Work the whole together until everything is well mixed and bake gently for ever.

I don't know where that came from but I must say, popular though those sort of things seem to be, I find the above excruciating.

Sort of thing you might find on a tea towel.

Errata

"My mum is marrying her best friend today, which is terrific.
She's marrying my best friend today, which is terrific.
I hope the three of us will always be best friends.
Always there for each other through thick and thin
Always love each other
Always stick up for each other
Always remember that this is the most special day in our lives"

.............. and so on and so forth.

jackyann

I would definitely ask him. Most 11 year olds have favourite books & poems and you may well find something that others haven't thought of (and isn't in the Registrar's book!)
Even if you need to give him a selection, I would definitely let him choose. If he is in the company of a loving family, and doesn't need to be "cool", he may even choose something a bit "soppy"!
I would suggest looking through Michael Morpurgo's books, Michael Rosen's poems and a personal favourite, Daisy Ashford's "The Young Visiters"
Depending on the child, I wouldn't dismiss Shakespeare. I have known 11 year olds deliver a short piece beautifully.

Georgiegirl256

Errata wrote: »

"My mum is marrying her best friend today, which is terrific.
She's marrying my best friend today, which is terrific.
I hope the three of us will always be best friends.
Always there for each other through thick and thin
Always love each other
Always stick up for each other
Always remember that this is the most special day in our lives"

.............. and so on and so forth.

Now that's nice. Not too long, and most importantly, not too gushy either, and a lot more suited to an 11 year old than most of the readings.

Spendless

When my sister married (in the 90s), I spent a year looking for her wedding day card from me. The verse in it was read out by the best man as it was so suitable for her. Maybe this is an idea if you can't find/write anything, go have a look in some wedding day cards in the shops at the verses.

Sezzagirl

I like this reading although I know it has been used often


On Marriage
Kahlil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.


Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.


Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Brighton_belle

Sezzagirl wrote: »

I like this reading although I know it has been used often


On Marriage
Kahlil Gibran

Very nice, but for me, I would find that a bit cringeful coming out of the mouth of an 11 year old. I think it needs to be something that could have been written by an 11 year old to sound 'right' and genuine.

meritaten

what about this one?

May there always be work for your hands to do
May your purse always hold a coin or two
May the sun always shine on your window pane
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain
May a hand of a friend be always near you
and may love fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Spendless

wiogs wrote: »

I don't know where that came from but I must say, popular though those sort of things seem to be, I find the above excruciating.

Sort of thing you might find on a tea towel.

I don't know the author, but it's on a website for suitable poems at a wedding, as I came across it too; earlier.

I have found this difficult, as I said on a previous post, as most of the readings for this age group aren't about love and marriage and the ones that are, are usually read by someone older.

Even digging out dd's favourite poetry book and looking through some lamda pieces she's done, didn't find anything.

Have you also asked this on the weddings board OP, as someone may have already had this issue and found something.

Oh just a thought, what about the lyrics to a song done as a reading?

GobbledyGook

wiogs wrote: »

I don't know where that came from but I must say, popular though those sort of things seem to be, I find the above excruciating.

Sort of thing you might find on a tea towel.

I've no idea where it comes from. (I don't know many as we didn't have any at ours!)

I only posted as it was read by a child at the last wedding I went too.