Often couples ask me about ceremony readings and my response is
to offer to send them examples from my library. Having said that, I ask if they
have a favorite author, poet, writer or piece of literature that’s important or
meaningful to them. Voices of authors that have personalized meaning for my
couples make the most memorable and interesting additions to a wedding
ceremony. A recent example of two kindergarten teachers choose to read (a young
niece read), Oh the places you’ll go by Dr. Seuss. The readings don’t
have to be overly serious, but it’s best if they reflect the personalities of
the couple.
….KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or
Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great
Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your
way!
Here are some of the popular readings my couples have chosen to share with eachother and their audience.
Marriage is the golden ring in a chain whose beginning is a glance and whose ending is Eternity. 
Kahlil Gibran quotes
Listening Listening By David Ignatow –
You wept in your mother’s arms and I knew that from then on I was to forget myself. Listening to your sobs, I was resolved against my will to do well by us and so I said, without thinking, in great panic, To do wrong in one’s own judgment, though others thrive by it, is the right road to blessedness. Not to submit to error is in itself wrong and pride. Standing beside you, I took an oath to make your life simpler by complicating mine and what I always thought would happen did: I was lifted up in joy.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my and, so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.
Pablo Neruda quotes
Love enables you to put your deepest feelings and fears in the palm of you partner’s hand, knowing they will be handled with care.
Carl S Avery quotes
Excerpt from “The Art of a Good Marriage”
Wilferd Arlan Peterson
“A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the “little” things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say, “I love you” at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values, and common objectives.
It is standing together and facing the world.
It is forming a circle that gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation, and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right person — it is being the right partner.”
The Blessing Of The Apaches
Now you will feel no rain, For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness for you,
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place,
To enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.
Touched By An Angel
By Maya Angelou
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
“Blessing of the Hands”
These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children. These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.