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Romantic wedding readings
Some couples want the ceremony to feel exactly like what it is: two people, deeply in love, speaking their love out loud. These readings lean into that — tender, warm, unafraid of the big feelings.
A romantic reading works best when it's read by someone who isn't afraid to feel it either. Choose your reader carefully; rehearse together once.
Romantic readings we love
- 01
For a new beginningby John O'Donohue, 1956 ~ 2008The delight when your courage kindled and out you stepped onto new groundRead the full poem - 02
How do I love theeby Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 ~ 1861if God choose I shall but love thee better after deathRead the full poem - 03
I want to die while you love meby Georgia Douglas Johnson, 1880 ~ 1966Who would care to live til love has nothing more to ask, and nothing more to give.Read the full poem - 04
Ideas of right and wrongby Rumi, 1207 ~ 1273Let the beauty we love be what we doRead the full poem - 05
Invitation to loveby Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1872 ~ 1906Come, O Love, whenever you may, and you are welcome, welcomeRead the full poem - 06
Nowby Robert Browning, 1812 ~ 1889When ecstasies uptmost we clutch at the coreRead the full poem - 07
Oh, the places you will go!by Dr. Seuss, 1904 ~ 1991Things can happen and frequently do, to people as brainy and footsy as youRead the full poem - 08
Song of the Open Roadby Walt Whitman, 1819 ~ 1892I give you myself before preaching or lawRead the full poem - 09
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 - 10
Sonnet 116by William Shakespeare, 1564 ~ 1616If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever lovedRead the full poem - 11The Beauty we loveby Rumi, 1207 ~ 1273The moment I heard my first love story I went looking for youRead the full poem
- 12
The kissby Rabindranath Tagore, 1861 ~ 1941Love is writing a song in a delicate script, kiss-calligraphy on lipsRead the full poem - 13
The Trueloveby David Whyte, b. 1955You’ve simply had enough of drowning and you want to live and you want to love and you will walk across any territory and any darkness however fluid and however dangerous to take the one hand you know belongs in yours.Read the full poem - 14
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
Choosing your reading
What makes a romantic reading work at a wedding?
It's easy for a love poem to become too gushy and sickly sweet. A good writer will lace the sweetness of love with just the right amount of salt — the gritty realities of life. In that way, the joy of love becomes grounded, and more real. For more help choosing your reading, check out the Free Resources we have for Resplendants (wedding readers), particularly the video 'What Makes a Love Poem a Wedding Poem'.
What are the tips to delivering a "romantic" wedding reading like a pro?
The great mistake is to direct a romantic poem at one of the people getting married. If you're talking about "the deliciousness of her ruby lips" while looking at the bride, it might start to feel a bit awkward. Speak your reading to the universal lover and you'll bring everyone into the embrace of a universal love. 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.