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Short wedding readings
Sometimes the best reading is the shortest one. A handful of lines, spoken clearly, can carry more feeling than a long passage that loses the room halfway through.
These are our favourite short wedding readings — each under a minute spoken, most well under. Perfect if you want the ceremony to move briskly, or if you're pairing several voices back-to-back.
Short readings we love
- 01
Book of Genesis
by Kei Miller, b. 1978Untill even silent dreams had been allowed
Read the full poem → - 02
Epiphany
by Sophie Strand, contemporaryMy heart was made to be split open, like the milkweed pod, and scattered
Read the full poem → - 03
Habitation
by Margaret Atwood, b. 1939With wonder at having survived this far, we are learning to make fire
Read the full poem → - 04
House of Stone
by Carmen Bugan, b. 1970May your tears and your smiles happen always face to face.
Read the full poem → - 05
Learned in Kindergarten
by Robert Fulghum, b. 1937Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up
Read the full poem → - 06
Love
by "Roy Croft" (disputed attribution)You are helping me to make out of the lumber of my life, not a tavern, but a temple
Read the full poem → - 07
Mysteries, yes
by 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
We are young
by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1892 ~ 1973We have become as one, deep rooted in the soil of Life and tangled in the sweet growth
Read the full poem →
Choosing your reading
How short is short?
Anything under about 45 seconds spoken aloud — usually eight to sixteen lines. Long enough to say something real; short enough that nobody shifts in their seat.
How many readings should we have?
One or two is typical for a shorter ceremony; three works well if you'd like to give more guests a role. Vary the tone so the ceremony doesn't sit on one note.
Who should read?
Choose people whose voices you love hearing — siblings, close friends, a parent, a chosen family member. Send the reading in advance so they can practise.