Home › Collections › Garden wedding readings
Garden wedding readings
A garden wedding already has half the poem written — the light, the leaves, the small business of bees. The right reading picks that up and hands it back to the couple as a promise.
These are our favourite readings for weddings held in gardens, orchards, backyards and quiet green corners of the world.
Garden readings we love
- 01
About Marriageby Denise Levertov, 1923 ~ 1997I would be met, and meet you so, in a green airy space, not locked in.Read the full poem - 02
For a new beginningby John O'Donohue, 1956 ~ 2008The delight when your courage kindled and out you stepped onto new groundRead the full poem - 03
House of Stoneby Carmen Bugan, b. 1970May your tears and your smiles happen always face to face.Read the full poem - 04
I carry your heartby e.e. cummings, 1894 ~ 1962This is the wonder that is keeping the stars apart.Read the full poem - 05
Ideas of right and wrongby Rumi, 1207 ~ 1273Let the beauty we love be what we doRead the full poem - 06
Invitation to loveby Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1872 ~ 1906Come, O Love, whenever you may, and you are welcome, welcomeRead the full poem - 07
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 - 08The Beauty we loveby Rumi, 1207 ~ 1273The moment I heard my first love story I went looking for youRead the full poem
- 09
The kissby Rabindranath Tagore, 1861 ~ 1941Love is writing a song in a delicate script, kiss-calligraphy on lipsRead the full poem - 10When faces called flowersby e.e. cummings, 1894 ~ 1962Alive; we’re alive, dear: it’s(kiss me now)spring!Read the full poem
- 11
Zuccini Shofarby Sarah Lindsay, b. 1958Let living room pianos invite unwashed handsRead the full poem
Choosing your reading
What makes a reading work at a garden wedding?
The setting of an outdoor wedding is your biggest asset. Don't fight it. Invite the natural world into your reading. Feel free to change up small details in the poem to make it fit — if you're in view of the mountains but the poem talks about forests, maybe see if it makes sense to switch it up. For more help choosing your reading, check out the Free Resources we have for Resplendants (wedding readers), particularly the video 'Seven Rules You Are Totally Allowed to Break'.
Any tips for reading in the garden?
The weather outdoors can be unpredictable. Print the reading in a large font on stiff card — paper flaps in the wind. If you're not mic'd up, choose something short, slow right down and speak clearly; the wind can swallow fast speech. 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.