Readings - Non-Religious

Secular Wedding Readings

This is a selection of non-religious "readings."  That means book passages or poetry about love and marriage that are appropriate for a wedding ceremony. The practice of having readings and readers has become less popular in recent years.  BUT - if you are looking for inspiration for a wedding ceremony, these are a great place to start.  I often start with a passage and then create a wedding ceremony based on the tone of the reading, as well as the subject matter. 

It's all about finding what's right for you!

from "Union"
by Robert Fulghum

"You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks - all those sentences that began with "When we're married" and continued with "I will and you will and we will" - those late night talks that included "someday and somehow and maybe"- and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, "You know all those things we've promised and hoped and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word." Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another- acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this- is my husband, this- is my wife”​

The Art of Marriage
 Wilferd A. Peterson 

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of 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 at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding, and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for the things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual, and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner. It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best.

Why Marriage?
By Mary Nichols-Haining

Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person, With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body. Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me, who won't hold them against me, Who loves me when I'm unlikable, who sees the small child in me, and who looks for the divine potential of me. Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night with someone who thanks God for me, with someone I feel blessed to hold. Because marriage means opportunity to grow in love and friendship, because marriage is a discipline to be added to a list of achievements, because marriage do not fail, people fail when they enter into marriage expecting another to make them whole. Because knowing this, I promise myself to take full responsibility for my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness. I create me. I take half of the responsibility for my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness. I create me. I take half of the responsibility for my marriage.  Together we create our marriage.  Because of this understanding, the possibilities are limitless. ​

Ultimate Geek Mashup
Compiler Unknown

We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. Love is the moment before you’re frozen in carbonite, when the girl you’ve had your eye on finally admits what you always knew. Love is when you say, “I know”. Love is do, or do not, there is not try. Wuv…twu wuv…goes on forever and ever. And always says “As you wish”. Love is not cupid’s Arrow, it’s a green one. It happens in a Flash, and makes you feel like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound. It’s a shield, a smash, a hammer, and an iron suit. You should always be in love. Unless you can be Batman. Then you should be Batman. Love is the Ron Swanson of emotions. There is nothing stronger, except Ron Swanson. When it comes to love, treat yo-self. Love says “Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear”. Love is like a prayer. It’s the great American hero, Kevin Bacon, teaching a small town that it’s our time, it’s our time to dance. Love is 1.21 gigawatts. It makes us drive 88 miles per hour, speeding towards our Density. It’s dogs and cats living together…mass hysteria. It’s more powerful than a T-Rex, and almost majestic. Love is our happy thought. Love is magic. Love is asking “After all this time?” and knowing the answer will be “Always."

​I Love You
by Roy Croft

​I love you, not only for what you are but for what I am when I am with you.
I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself but for what you are making of me.
I love you for the part of me that you bring out;
I love you for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart and passing over all the foolish, weak things that you can’t help dimly seeing there, and for drawing out into the light all the beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to find.
I love you because you are helping me to make of the lumber of my life, not a tavern, but a temple; out of the works of my every day not a reproach, but a song.
I love you because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good and more than any fate could have done to make me happy.
You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a sign. You have done it by being yourself.
Perhaps that is what being a friend means, after all.

These words were written by the one and only Mr. Fred Rogers.  You are never too old and it's never too late to hear his message. 

When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong along with the fearful, the true mixed in with the facade. And of course the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way. ... It’s what’s inside us that matters most. You can really love someone else when you really love yourself. ... As human beings our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have. Something inside which is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression. ... Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun, like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now, and to go on caring, even through times that may bring us pain.

A passage from Kurt Vonnegut’s “A man without a country”
​p. 132.

"But I had a good uncle, my late Uncle Alex. He was my father’s kid brother, a childless graduate of Harvard who was an honest life insurance salesman in Indianapolis. He was well-read and wise. And his principal complaint about other human beings was that they so seldom noticed it when they were happy. So, when we were drinking lemonade under an apple tree in the summer, say, and talking lazily about this and that, almost buzzing like honeybees, Uncle Alex would suddenly interrupt the agreeable blather to exclaim, if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is. So, I do the same now, and so do my kids and grand kids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is."

Gravitation 
Albert Einstein

"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity."

Destiny
Author, Unknown

Destiny is a mysterious thing.  No matter what you do or where you go, you cannot avoid it.  And, no matter how hard you try, even putting forth your greatest effort, you can’t force it to happen before it's time. This occasion we witness today is the destiny of two souls. There is not a force in the universe that could have kept you apart, and there is nothing they could have done to come together sooner. 
Each of you had to live your lives, lives that were stepping stones that have led to this moment in time, this uniting of hearts and minds that shall be forever more. 
This occasion we celebrate today is the destiny of two souls. Yes, destiny is a marvelous and mysterious thing.

He’s Not Perfect 
by Bob Marley

He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.

A book passage from Carl Sagan 

Consider our planet. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived here on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.

The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Once we lose our fear of being tiny, we find ourselves on the threshold of a vast and awesome Universe which dwarfs -- in time, in space, and in potential -- the tidy anthropocentric proscenium of our ancestors. And for small creatures such as we, this vastness is made bearable only through love.

Marry The  One
Author unknown

Marry the one who doesn’t mind doing dishes . . . or the laundry, or the cooking, or who will jump into home improvements to make a house a home or whatever needs to be done.
Marry the one who will support you in everything that matters to your heart, from your silliest ideas to your grandest dreams.
Marry the one who pulls you away from the sink and into a dance in the kitchen.
Marry the one who pays attention and is thoughtful with your wants and needs.
Marry the one who’s willing and happy to binge your favorite show. Each and every season. 
Marry the one who leaps into parenting with both feet. Who loves the children and is willing to learn with an open heart. Who through the hard days, gains their trust and love in return.
Marry the one who teases playfully, sneaks extra kisses, holds your hand in public, and says “I love you” unabashedly.
Marry the one who makes you feel beautiful. Who laughs with you. Who comforts you when you cry.
Marry the one who shows up every day—when life is great, when it’s miserable, when it’s everything in between.
Marry the one who’s willing to brave the rollercoaster—the ups and downs of marriage.
Marry the one who knows love is a choice more than it is a feeling. The one who will choose love, even when it’s hard. The one who will choose YOU, especially when you wouldn’t choose yourself.
Marry the one who’ll walk beside you all the way through. Through the late nights with sick children. Through the early mornings for the stressful job. Through weight gain and gray hair and wrinkles. Through the moments when you’re at your worst. Through weeks, and months, and maybe even YEARS of pain or distance. Through real sickness. Financial troubles. Old age. Devastating loss. Through the moments of wondering if the feeling can ever truly be captured again.
Marry the kind one. The GOOD one. The one who hears you, and sees you, and validates your feelings.
Marry the one who knows you deeply and who loves you as you are . . .
the one who will spend a lifetime trying to be the partner you deserve.
Marry that one . . .
and BE that one . . .
for the one you are marrying.

Thoughts In a Garden 
 R. Gerhardt

This is a special place, a place where people have brought beautiful living plants, here to establish them, to nurture and care for them, that they may forever surround us with the beauty we now see. And into this place where we stand, you have brought something beautiful — the relationship that is becoming your marriage. Here you are declaring it and pledging it, promising to establish and nurture it. We are aware of the special beauty between the two of you, just as we are aware of the special beauty of this place. We are with you now in this appropriate place to celebrate your relationship as it is and as it is yet to be, and in doing so, we ask only that you remember how your life together will have the same seasons and needs as this garden. There will be growth like spring and loss like fall; there will be giving as the blossoming flower, and rest as the seed beneath the snow. All the seasons will be yours, but remember, too, that gardens are not must happenings. The more wonderful the garden, the more skilled the gardener. So you will have to care deeply for the life that is yours together, and nurture it. You will have to appreciate your differences and cultivate them. You will have to take care of yourself, if for no other reason than out of love for the other. And you will need the support of family and friends to reach full growth. As you caringly chose this place to declare your marriage, so remember it's lessons for your life together through the seasons that are yours to share. And may those seasons bring you and yours joy and happiness.

---

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
Louis de Bernieres

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your root was so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

---

Marriage Joins Two People In The Circle Of Its Love 
Edmund O'Neill

Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.
Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener and critic. And there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child.
Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly.
Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life.
When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.

---

A History of Love 
​Diane Ackerman

Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful it has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fuelled national scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings. How can love's spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of one syllable? Love is an ancient delirium, a desire older than civilization, with taproots stretching deep into dark and mysterious days.The heart is a living museum. In each of its galleries, no matter how narrow or dimly lit, preserved forever like wondrous diatoms, are our moments of loving and being loved.

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Love Is Friendship Set On Fire
 Laura Hendricks

Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough.

---

The Giraffe and the Monkey
 Daniel Thompson

Wherever we go
Whatever we do
Whenever there’s me
I hope that there’s you.

Now Money is Funny, it can make people odd.
You forget to be happy, and you live for your job

And fashion, is a passion, beset with a flaw
You can dress to excess, but you’ll always need more

And a muscle toned body, may sound like a dream
But no body is better, than chocolate ice cream

What I’m trying to say, is that happiness grows
Not through your wages, or body or clothes
But in laughter and love, and in sharing your life.
In the arms of another as husband and wife.

So when you find someone who’s weird just like you
Who laughs when you’re stupid and who makes you laugh too.

When you sit on the sofa, not hiding your flaws.
As imperfectly perfect, as the hand that holds yours.


When the fortune of kings, or purse of a beggar.
Won’t change how it feels, just being together.

When a cuddle and cuppa is all that you need….

Well then…
you’ve found something quite special indeed.

Wherever we go
Whatever we do
Whenever there’s me
I hope that there’s you.​

---

I Belong in Your Arms
Deborah Bridea

I belong in your arms. Finally, I have found a place into which I fit perfectly, safely and securely with no doubts, no fears, no sadness, no tears. This place is filled with happiness and laughter, yet it is spacious enough to allow me the freedom to move around, to live my life and be myself. This wonderful place, which I never believed really existed, I have found finally. Inside your arms, inside your heart, inside your love. 

---

The Beauty of Love 
by Anon

The question is asked: ‘Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?’ And the answer is given: ‘Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled but still clasped; their faces are seamed but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired but still strong with love and devotion. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love.

---

The Wedding Vow
Author,  Rebecca W.
​
You are not the air that I breathe,
You are the sweet scent that drifts upon it
You are not the sounds that I hear,
You are the music of my life
You are not the food that I need,
You are the nourishment of my soul
You are not my will to survive
You are my reason for living
It is with you that I experience the wonders of the world
It is with you that I triumph over the challenges in my path
It is your partnership that will lead me to the fulfillment of my dreams
It is your friendship that guides me as I learn and grow.
It is your patience and wisdom that calms my restless nature
It is through you that I know my true self
I do not take you for granted, I cherish you
I do not need you, I choose you
I choose you today in witness of all the people who love us
I choose you tomorrow in the privacy of our hearts
I choose you in strength and weakness
I choose you in health and in sickness
I choose you in joy and sorrow
I will choose you, over all others,
every day for all the days of my life

---

From This Day Forward
Author, Unknown
​
From this day forward, let us laugh together and plan together,
let us find our favorite places, and go together...
Let us enjoy the sunshine and the rain, being alone together, and in crowds together… From this day forward, together,
Let us, love! Let Us Walk Together. Let us walk together yet not as one, but such that our shadows are separate and distinct, such that our souls are unbound and free. Let us share our time, yet do not give all your time, nor take all of mine, for in order to develop to the fullest, to be free, we must have solitude and individuality.
Let me wander in solitude when I need to be alone, yet be near, when I need you.  Let us share our love. Give freely of your love, but do not smother me; my soul must breathe free air.  Take my love, but do not demand it, for love given of obligation is stale and without life.  Let us share our lives. Share my life, but do not try to shape it.  Let me share your life, but do not let it revolve around me. 
Let us share ourselves. Accept me as I am, do not attempt to change me to fit your dreams.  Respect me for what I am, not for what I was or one day may be. Share yourself with me, but do not allow me to limit your freedom or bind your soul.  Let us share our minds, thoughts, goals, values, and dreams.  Let us develop these within ourselves without restriction or loss of freedom. Thus, our two free souls may wander together as they develop in freedom. As we share our lives, as we walk through life together, know my love is yours, but not my soul, for it must be free.

---

Marriage Means Being In Love for the Rest of Your Life
Author, Chris Ardis
​
Marriage is love walking hand in hand together. It’s laughing with each other about silly little things and learning to discuss big things with care and tenderness. In marriage, love is trusting each other when you’re apart. It’s getting over disappointments and hurts, knowing that these are present in all relationships. It’s the realization that there is no one else in this world that you’d rather be with than the one you’re married to. It’s thinking of new things to do together; it’s growing old together. Marriage is being in love for the rest of your life.

---

Marriage Joins Two People in the Circle of Love
Author, Edmund O’Neill 
​
Marriage is a commitment to life,
the best that two people can find and bring out in each other.
It offers opportunities for sharing and growth
that no other relationship can equal.
It is a physical and an emotional joining
that is promised for a lifetime. Within the circle of its love,
marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships.
A wife and a husband are each other’s best friend,
confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic.
And there may come times when one partner
is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other
may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life.
Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger,
even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly. Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid.
It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences,
and new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life. When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage,
they create a spirit unique unto themselves
which binds them closer than any spoken or written words.
Marriage is a promise,
a potential made in the hearts of two people who love each other
and takes a lifetime to fulfill.

---

Foundations of a Marriage
Author, Regina Hil

“Love, Trust, and Forgiveness are the foundations of marriage. In marriage, many days will bring happiness, while other days may be sad. But together, two hearts can overcome everything…
In marriage, not all moments will be exciting or romantic, and sometimes worries and anxiety will be overwhelming. But together, two hearts that accept will find comfort together.
Recollections of past joys, pains, and shared feelings will be the glue that holds everything together during even the worst and most insecure moments.
Reaching out to each other as friends and becoming the confidant and companion that the other one needs is the true magic and beauty of any two people together.
It’s inspiring in each other a dream or a feeling, and having faith in each other and not giving up… even when all the odds say to quit.
It’s allowing each other to be vulnerable, to be himself or herself, even when the opinions or thoughts aren’t in total agreement or exactly what you’d like them to be.
It’s getting involved and showing interest in each other, really listening and being available, the way any best friend should be.
Exactly three things need to be remembered in a marriage if it is to be a mutual bond of sharing, caring, and loving throughout life:
Love, Trust, and Forgiveness.

---

We Seek The Comfort
Marcus Finch Lupus

​We seek the comfort of another
Someone to share the life we choose
Someone to help us through the 
never-ending attempt to 
understand ourselves
And in the end, 
Someone to comfort us 
along the way.

---

Today I Marry My Best Friend
​
Today I married my best friend
The one I laugh with as we 
share life's wondrous zest.
As we find new enjoyments and
Experience all the best.
The one I live for, because 
The world seems brighter as
Our happy times are better and
Our burdens feel much lighter.
The one I love with every fiber of my soul.
We used to feel vaguely incomplete,
Now together, we are whole.

---

From Tuesdays With Morrie
Author, Mitch Albom
​
"Still,"Morrie said, "there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don’t respect the other person, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don’t know how to compromise, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can’t talk openly about what goes on between you, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don’t have a common set of values in life, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike "And the biggest one of those values, Mitch?" Yes? "Your belief in the importance of your marriage." He sniffed, then closed his eyes for a moment. "Personally," he sighed, his eyes still closed, "I think marriage is a very important thing to do, and you’re missing a lot if you don’t try it." He ended the subject by quoting a poem he believed in like a prayer: "Love each other or perish."

---

Love Sonnet 17
Author, Pablo Neruda

I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
Secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

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 don’t 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 hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep, it is your eyes that close

---

You're The One For Me​
by Dallas Fisher
​
You're the one for me.
Your eyes are like fire on a cold winter's day
Your soul burns within me
Your touch blossoms my innermost passions
And your voice melts my heart.

You're the one for me.
You are the key to unlocking
My most sacred fantasies.
You're the one for me,
The one that wakens me 
When I'm at my deepest sleep 
With your passionate ways,
The one that rivets me with
Your beautiful, unique face.

You're the one for me.
You are the one that I want to share
My life, my love with for all eternity.
I will love you always and forever.

You're the one for me.

---

​I love you
 by Roy Croft
​
I love you, not only for what you are but for what I am when I am with you.
I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself but for what you are making of me.
I love you for the part of me that you bring out;
I love you for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart and passing over all the foolish, weak things that you can’t help dimly seeing there, and for drawing out into the light all the beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to find.
I love you because you are helping me to make of the lumber of my life, not a tavern, but a temple; out of the works of my every day, not a reproach, but a song.
I love you because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good and more than any fate could have done to make me happy.
You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a sign. You have done it by being yourself.
Perhaps that is what being a friend means, after all.

---

I Love You
 Carl Sandburg

I love you for what you are, but I love you yet more for what you are going to be.
I love you not so much for your realities as for your ideals. I pray for your desires that they may be great, rather than for your satisfactions, which may be so hazardously little.
A satisfied flower is one whose petals are about to fall. The most beautiful rose is one hardly more than a bud wherein the pangs and ecstasies of desire are working for a larger and finer growth.
Not always shall you be what you are now. You are going forward toward something great. I am on the way with you and therefore I love you.

---

How Do I Love Thee?  Let Me Count The Ways.
Sonnet 43
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints – I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! – and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death

---

From Blue-Eyed Devil
Lisa Kleypas

"I no longer believed in the idea of soul mates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that, very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together."

Once in a Lifetime

Once in a lifetime, you find someone special,
Your lives intermingle and somehow you know..
This is the beginning of all you have longed for,
A love you can build on, a love that will grow.
Once in a lifetime, to those who are lucky,
A miracle happens, and dreams all come true.
I know it can happen, 
It happened to me.
For I've found my 
"Once in a lifetime"
With you. 

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** Formal Wedding Ceremony Guide ** Formal Wedding Ceremony Scripts ** Elopement Ceremony Guide ** Elopement Ceremony Scripts ** Parts of a Wedding Ceremony ** Vow Writing Guide ** Unplugged Ceremony ** Opening Prayers ** Welcoming ** Moment of Silence ** Declaration of Support ** About Love and Marriage ** Non-Religious Readings ** Christian Readings ** Secular I-do's! ** Christian I-do-s! ** Ring Meaning ** Ring Blessings ** Secular Ring Exchanges ** Christian Ring Exchanges ** Unity Ceremonies ** Secular Blessings ** Christian Blessings ** The-pronouncement-Secular  ** The Pronouncement - Christian **