Perhaps as a couple you're not that soppy. Maybe you're not a lover of tradition. It could be that you've heard "Wedding Prayer" and "1 Corinthians 13" during so many wedding ceremonies that you've started to memorise them word for word...
Whatever your reasons, if you're looking for a non-traditional, non-cheesy, funny, or alternative reading for your wedding ceremony then you're in the right place! We've compiled 11 of our favourite readings that are romantic, but just a bit different from the norm - we hope they inspire you!
Let us know what you think in the comments box at the bottom of the page - if you're going to use any of the featured readings in your ceremony then we'd love to hear about it!
1. "I Do" - Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City
His hello was the end of her endings Her laugh was their first step down the aisle His hand would be hers to hold forever His forever was as simple as her smile
He said she was what was missing She said instantly she knew She was a question to be answered And his answer was “I do”
2. "Yes I'll Marry You My Dear" - 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!!
3. "He's Not Perfect" - Bob Marley
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.
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4. "You're A Hell of a Woman" - Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
When I say, 'I love you,' it's not because I want you or because I can't have you.
It has nothing to do with me.
I love what you are, what you do, how you try.
I've seen your kindness and your strength.
I've seen the best and the worst of you.
And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are.
You're a hell of a woman.
You're the one.
5. "The Beauty of Love" - Anonymous
The question is asked: “Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?” And the answer is given: “Yes, there is a more beautiful thing.
"It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled but still clasped; their faces are seamed but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired but still strong with love and devotion. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love.”
6. "I Wanna Be Yours" - John Cooper Clarke
Let me be your vacuum cleaner
Breathing in your dust
Let me be your Ford Cortina
I will never rust
If you like your coffee hot
Let me be your coffee pot
You call the shots
I wanna be yours
Let me be your raincoat
For those frequent rainy days
Let me be your dreamboat
When you wanna sail away
Let me be your teddy bear
Take me with you anywhere
I dont care
I wanna be yours
Let me be your electric meter
I will not run out
Let me be the electric heater
You get cold without
Let me be your setting lotion
Hold your hair with deep devotion
Deep as the deep Atlantic ocean
Thats how deep is my emotion
Deep deep deep deep deep deep
I dont wanna be hers
I wanna be yours
7. Wedding Vows, - Khaleesi and Khal Drogo, Game of Thrones
As you are the Moon of his life, he shall be your Sun and Stars.
Your love shall be as ever present as those two celestial bodies...even though they are sometimes hidden from one another's sight.
Your love will be the guiding force that charts the course of your tomorrows, holds your world together in difficult times, and will make life itself shine bolder and brighter than we human beings have a right to dream of.
8. "The Art of Marriage" - Wilferd A. Peterson
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 all 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 in 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 expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
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.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
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.
9. "I Will Love You Forever" - The Amber Spyglass, Phillip Pullman
I will love you forever; whatever happens.
Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one will ever tear us apart.
Every atom of me and every atom of you… We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we’ll be joined so tight…
10. "Union" - Robert Fulgham
You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry.
From that moment of yes to 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 over a meal or during 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 a wedding. The symbolic vows that 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."
Look at one another and 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 few years.
Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you.
For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this- is my husband, this- is my wife.
11. "Wild Awake" - Hilary T. Smith
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 is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square.
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.
Photo Credit: Picture by the lovely From The Smiths Photography