WEDDING READINGS

Many Civil Ceremonies often include at least one wedding reading. Usually delivered by a close friend or relative, the words themselves are normally chosen by the couple but can be suggested by the reader themselves.

Before going ahead and deciding who, what and at which point in the Ceremony the wedding readings will take place, it is a good idea to speak to the Superintendent Registrar about what lee-way you have. Some Registrar’s are happy for you to have multiple readings scattered throughout the Service, whereas others may say that you can only have one wedding reading at the end, or, in certain cases, none at all. If your Registrar is being particularly uncooperative on this matter, do not be afraid to ask if there is an alternative Registrar available to solemnise the Ceremony.

Once you have had approval to include readings, the next task is to determine how many. Your Registrar will have the final say on at which point in the Service the wedding readings will take place and they will also give guidance as to how many would be appropriate. As a guide, in Civil Ceremonies, most Superintendent Registrar’s will be happy with one, two or even three readings but may take umbrage if the numbers begin to rise higher. A lot of course will depend on just how long the wedding readings are – if your Registrar suggests up to two readings, but you really want four short ones, then there may be room for compromise. The best course of action is to seek guidance from the Registrar as to how many wedding readings would be suitable, then go out and do some research.

When it comes down to which wedding readings to choose, the world is pretty much your oyster, so long as they continue the non-religious theme of the Ceremony. Whether it’s a poem by Wordsworth, some lyrics from a song, a piece of text from a novel, a specialist wedding reading or some words especially written for the day, it doesn’t really matter. The key to any reading is to make it relevant and timely – as such the song lyrics from Metallica's ‘Enter Sandman’ or the whole of Tolstoy’s War and Peace will not be recommended, nor approved by your Registrar! As you can imagine, your choices are pretty limitless, so to help you out you may want to check out some of our favourites.