Wedding Poetry

[Squirls]

I was looking for a wedding poem and was surprised I couldn't find a specific thread for this, so I'll start with this one by Khalil 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 hands of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, but 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

[Claire]

That's a very striking poem, Squirls, and unusual in it's balance between joining together and yet staying separate. It needs rereading a few times.

 

With a very different tone, the first wedding I took used this poem:

 

Yes, I'll Marry You

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!

 

The groom predicted that the line "my house is like a pigsty" would get a big laugh and he was right. It worked really well for a very relaxed, informal couple who were looking for a moment of light relief and humour half way through the service.

[bobblington]

Claire -I love it (might use it at mine)

 

I will post anything I find that seems promising.

[anneliesscott]

I had the Khalil Gibran at my wedding!! Then we had the passage "Your children are not your children", also from the Prophet, at my daughter's naming ceremony. Love his writing.

 

I also love the Pam Ayres, and think it's an excellent choice for a wedding.

 

Another favourite I would suggest is "The Bargain" by Sir Philip Sidney:

 

My true-love hath my heart, and I have his,

By just exchange one for the other given:

I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss;

There never was a bargain better driven.

His heart in me keeps me and him in one,

My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides;

He loves my heart for once it was his own;

I cherish his because in me it bides.

His heart his wound receivèd from my sight;

My heart was wounded with his wounded heart;

For as from me on him his hurt did light,

So still methought in me his hurt did smart:

Both equal hurt, in this change sought our bliss,

My true love hath my heart and I have his.

[Claire]

A forthcoming wedding have chosen this reading:

 

THE GOOD-MORROW.

by John Donne

 

 

I WONDER by my troth, what thou and I

Did, till we loved ? were we not wean'd till then ?

But suck'd on country pleasures, childishly ?

Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den ?

'Twas so ; but this, all pleasures fancies be ;

If ever any beauty I did see,

Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.

 

And now good-morrow to our waking souls,

Which watch not one another out of fear ;

For love all love of other sights controls,

And makes one little room an everywhere.

Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone ;

Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown ;

Let us possess one world ; each hath one, and is one.

 

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,

And true plain hearts do in the faces rest ;

Where can we find two better hemispheres

Without sharp north, without declining west ?

Whatever dies, was not mix'd equally ;

If our two loves be one, or thou and I

Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die.

 

 

I hope they've chosen a really good reader, who can do it justice.

[anneliesscott]

Just went to a fantastic wedding, where they did something I've never come across before, but absolutely loved. It was a small wedding, just 25 people, and instead of 1 long reading, we were each given a small quote on love or friendship to read out, one at a time. They were all great quotes, some funny, some tear-jerking, all apt and it made everyone at the wedding feel so involved.

[Squirls]

... and instead of 1 long reading, we were each given a small quote on love or friendship to read out, one at a time. They were all great quotes, some funny, some tear-jerking, all apt and it made everyone at the wedding feel so involved.

What a cool idea.

[srisathvika]

The wedding poem>>>> “True Love”

 

True love is a sacred flame that burns eternally,

And none can dim its special glow or change its destiny.

True love speaks in tender tones and hears with gentle ear,

True love gives with open heart and true love conquers fear.

True love makes no harsh demands

It neither rules nor binds,

True love holds with gentle hands the hearts that it entwines.