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Rustic wedding readings
Rustic ceremonies tend to feel most themselves when the words match the room — plainspoken, unfussy, quietly beautiful. No baroque flourishes; just something true, said well, under a wooden beam.
These are the readings we recommend for barn weddings, farmhouse services and anywhere a bit of hay is doing the decorating.
Rustic readings we love
- 01
Habitationby Margaret Atwood, b. 1939With wonder at having survived this far, we are learning to make fireRead the full poem - 02
House of Stoneby Carmen Bugan, b. 1970May your tears and your smiles happen always face to face.Read the full poem - 03
I love youby Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1850 ~ 1919I love your eyes when the lovelight lies lit with a passionate fireRead the full poem - 04
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 - 05
Marriage Morningby Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1809 ~ 1892This is the golden morning of love, and you are his morning starRead the full poem - 06
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 - 07
Mysteries, yesby Mary Oliver, 1935 ~ 2019Let me keep company, always, with those who say 'look' and laugh in astonishment and bow their heads.Read the full poem - 08
Song of the Open Roadby Walt Whitman, 1819 ~ 1892I give you myself before preaching or lawRead the full poem - 09
The master speedby Robert Frost, 1874 ~ 1963Once you agree that life is just life forevermore, together, wing to wing and oar to oarRead the full poem - 10
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 - 11
When faces called flowersby e.e. cummings, 1894 ~ 1962Alive; we’re alive, dear: it’s(kiss me now)spring!Read the full poem
Choosing your reading
What makes a reading work at a rustic wedding?
The best rustic readings have the same quality as the setting: they don't try too hard. Look for poems that speak plainly about love, that use the natural world as their backdrop, and that feel like they could have been written by someone who knows what honest work looks like. 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 "rustic" wedding reading like a pro?
Resist the temptation to perform and over-dramatise. The whole beauty of a rustic ceremony is its lack of pretension, and the reading should follow suit. Speak conversationally, make eye contact, and trust that the plainness of the language is doing the heavy lifting. 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.