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Classic wedding readings
Some readings have survived a hundred weddings because they've earned it. The language is doing more than describing love — it's shaping it, slowing it down, giving the couple something to stand inside.
These are the classic wedding readings that are classics for a reason. If you want your ceremony to feel rooted, formal in the good way, and quietly confident, start here.
Classic readings that never date
- 01
How do I love theeby Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 ~ 1861if God choose I shall but love thee better after deathRead the full poem - 02
How long we were fool'dby Walt Whitman, 1819 ~ 1892We have voided all but our own freedom, all but our own joyRead the full poem - 03
Loveby "Roy Croft" (disputed attribution)You are helping me to make out of the lumber of my life, not a tavern, but a templeRead the full poem - 04
Love Songby Henry Dumas, 1934 ~ 1968On hands and knees the ocean begs up the beach, then falls at your feet.Read the full poem - 05Love, mere loveby Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 ~ 1861Let temple burn, or flax and an equal light leaps in the flames from cedar plank or weed. And love is fire.Read the full poem
- 06
Marriage Morningby Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1809 ~ 1892This is the golden morning of love, and you are his morning starRead the full poem - 07
Most like an archby John Ciardi, 1916 ~ 1978All I do at piling stone on stone apart from you is roofless around nothingRead the full poem - 08
Nowby Robert Browning, 1812 ~ 1889When ecstasies uptmost we clutch at the coreRead the full poem - 09
On Loveby Kahlil Gibran, 1883 ~ 1931Let love be a moving sea between the shores of your soulsRead the full poem - 10On marriageby Kahlil Gibran, 1883 ~ 1931Be like a running brook that sings its melody to the nightRead the full poem
- 11Song of the Open Roadby Walt Whitman, 1819 ~ 1892I give you myself before preaching or lawRead the full poem
- 12
Song of Wandering Aengusby W.B. Yeats, 1865 ~ 1939We will pluck til times and times are done, the silver apples of the moon, the golden apples of the sunRead the full poem - 13
Sonnet 116by William Shakespeare, 1564 ~ 1616If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever lovedRead the full poem - 14
The Wedding Marchby Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1844 ~ 1889I to him turn with tears, whose wonder-wedlock deals triumph and immortal yearsRead the full poem - 15
Touched by an angelby Maya Angelou, 1928 ~ 2014Love costs all we are and will ever be, but it is only love that will set us free.Read the full poem - 16
We are youngby J.R.R. Tolkien, 1892 ~ 1973We have become as one, deep rooted in the soil of Life and tangled in the sweet growthRead the full poem - 17
Wedding Toastby Richard Wilbur, 1921 ~ 2017The world's fullness is not made, but found.Read the full poem
Choosing your reading
What makes a wedding reading a classic?
These classic poems have stood the test of time. Not only did they define the genre with their use of language, they touched something universal with their message. Those are the two ingredients of a classic.
What are the tips to delivering a "classic" wedding reading like a pro?
With these classic poems you can let the language, and the place they hold in the popular imagination, do a lot of the heavy lifting for you. Many of these will be poems people have heard before, but that doesn't mean you need to bring anything innovative to your delivery. Read well, these poems are a joy to hear again and again. Make sure you check out the performance tips we have for each poem, and visit the Performance Bootcamp for general tips every Resplendant (wedding reader) can follow.