Five Modern Readings for a Celebrant Wedding
Choosing a wedding reading is about finding words that speak to you, not simply filling a space in your ceremony. These five modern readings for a celebrant wedding explore love as a home, an honest conversation, an act of understanding, an extraordinary coincidence and a willingness to make room for another person.
Finding a wedding reading that feels right for you
You don’t need a PhD in literature, or a lifelong habit of reading poetry, to include a reading in your wedding ceremony. If poems and prose are not part of your everyday life, that is completely fine. A wedding reading does not need to be impressive, profound or chosen because you think it is what a ceremony ought to include. It simply needs to speak to you.
And the right words can come from anywhere: a song you love, a film you have watched together, an essay that made you pause or a contemporary writer who expresses something you recognise in your own relationship. There is space for all of these things in a celebrant-led ceremony, as long as they feel good, honest and right for you.
If you are searching for modern readings for a celebrant wedding, these five thoughtful choices offer distinctly different perspectives on what it means to love and be loved.
1. “You and Me on the Rock” by Brandi Carlile
“Just you and me on the rock.”
Brandi Carlile’s “You and Me on the Rock” imagines love as something steady enough to build a life upon. Its romance lies in the ordinary: a home, a garden, a walk and the comfort of returning to the person who matters most.
This is not a song about love making life perfect. It is about creating something secure together while the wider world remains changeable. That makes it particularly fitting for couples who have already navigated difficult seasons or who see marriage as the creation of a shared home rather than the culmination of a fairytale.
How to use it in your ceremony
The complete song is fairly long for a spoken reading, so choose a carefully edited section rather than asking somebody to read every verse. Alternatively, include a recording by Brandi Carlile during your ceremony.
It could work beautifully before your vows, where its imagery of choosing and building a life together can lead naturally into the promises you are about to make.
2. An excerpt from “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying” by Adrienne Rich
“An honorable human relationship … is a process of refining the truths [two people] can tell each other.”
This excerpt comes from Adrienne Rich’s 1975 essay “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying.” Although it was not written as a wedding reading, its reflections on truth, complexity and the courage required for real connection feel strikingly relevant to marriage.
It offers a view of love that is honest rather than sentimental. To love another person honourably is to keep learning how to tell the truth, how to listen and how to see one another as complex human beings.
Among these readings for a celebrant wedding, this is perhaps the most intellectually arresting. It would suit a couple who values openness and sees a lasting relationship as something active: a continual practice of knowing and being known.
How to use it in your ceremony
This passage is concise enough to stand on its own. Give it to a reader who is comfortable allowing pauses between the lines, as its power comes from giving each thought room to settle.
It could sit just before your vows or follow the story of your relationship, creating a bridge between everything you have already learned about one another and the commitment you are making next.
You can read the passage in its original context in Rich’s essay, “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying.”
3. An excerpt from Before Sunrise by Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan
“If there’s any kind of magic in this world, it must be in the attempt of understanding someone.”
In Before Sunrise, two strangers meet on a train and spend a night walking through Vienna, sharing ideas and gradually discovering the connection growing between them.
The selected passage suggests that the magic of a relationship exists in the space between two people: in the attempt to understand one another and to share something real. It also admits that complete understanding may be impossible. The value lies in continuing to try.
That makes it a beautiful choice for couples who love conversation, curiosity and the feeling of discovering new things about each other, even after years together. It is romantic, but its romance feels intelligent, intimate and grounded.
How to use it in your ceremony
Because the original words are written as dialogue, decide whether you want one person to read an edited monologue or two people to share the passage. A two-person reading could bring its conversational quality to life and offer a lovely way to involve two friends or family members.
The words could introduce your vows, especially if your promises speak about listening, communicating or continuing to choose curiosity throughout your marriage.
You can learn more about the film through The Criterion Collection’s introduction to Before Sunrise.
4. “We Are All Made of Stardust” — author unknown
“When you find someone you love, rejoice in the incredible odds that you two somehow found each other.”
Often shared as an anonymous wedding reading, this piece places one relationship within the enormous history of the universe. It reflects on the atoms that form us, the energy we leave behind and the astonishing odds of two people finding one another during their brief time on Earth.
Its scale is cosmic, but its conclusion is deeply human: finding somebody to love is improbable, temporary and extraordinarily beautiful.
This would suit couples who feel connected to science or nature, as well as those planning a secular ceremony who want a reading filled with wonder without using religious language. It could be especially evocative at an outdoor wedding beneath an open sky.
How to use it in your ceremony
This is one of the longer selections, so read it aloud while planning. You may find that an edited version has more impact and sits more comfortably within the pace of your ceremony.
A calm, unhurried reader will help its movement from stardust to human connection feel coherent. It could work well near the beginning of the ceremony, expanding everyone’s perspective before bringing their attention back to the two people whose unlikely meeting has gathered them there.
This piece circulates online without a dependable original credit.
5. “To Be Loved Is to Be Worth the Inconvenience” by @thefallenpoe.t
“Real love, it takes adjustments.”
This contemporary piece challenges the idea that love should always be easy. Instead, it finds love in the choices people make when life is inconvenient: staying for the late-night conversation, explaining something again, practising patience and making thoughtful adjustments for the person beside them.
The language is direct and conversational. There are no grand declarations or elaborate metaphors. Its power comes from recognising the small, sometimes difficult acts through which love becomes visible.
For couples searching for modern readings for a celebrant wedding, this offers an honest description of partnership as effort freely and repeatedly given. It would be particularly resonant for a couple who has supported one another through change or who wants their ceremony to acknowledge the everyday work behind a lasting relationship.
How to use it in your ceremony
This reading needs a natural, warm delivery. Choose somebody who understands its conversational rhythm and will speak it rather than perform it too formally.
It could be placed after your story and before your vows. The reading names the patience and adjustment involved in real love; your vows can then express how you intend to offer those things to each other.
The piece is credited to @thefallenpoe.t on Instagram.
How to choose between these modern wedding readings
Begin with your relationship rather than the popularity of a reading. Ask yourselves:
Which piece makes us think, “That sounds like us, or that sounds meaningful for us”?
Do we want the moment to feel warm, reflective, romantic or surprising?
Does the reading add something that has not already been expressed elsewhere?
Who could deliver it naturally and confidently?
Where will it sit within the emotional journey of our ceremony?
Read each contender aloud. Words that look beautiful on a screen or page do not always feel natural when spoken, and you may hear the right choice before you can explain why it works.
Your reading also does not need to summarise your entire relationship. It only needs to reveal one honest part of it.
Bringing your reading into the ceremony
Once you have chosen a reading, think about why it belongs in this particular ceremony. Your celebrant can introduce it with a line that gives guests some context: perhaps it comes from a song you play at home, a film you watched on an early date or a writer whose ideas have stayed with you.
Its position matters too. A reading near the beginning can establish the ceremony’s atmosphere. One placed after your story can deepen what guests have just heard, while a reading before your vows can prepare everyone for the promises to come.
If you are still deciding what else to include, my guide to creating your own wedding ceremony will help you think about its wider shape.
Create a ceremony that sounds like you
A wedding reading can hold a whole idea about love in just a few lines. The right one will not feel borrowed or included for tradition’s sake. It will sound as though it belongs to your story.
Choosing your readings is just one part of creating a ceremony that feels personal from the very first word. Through The Ceremony, we will explore your story, values and the atmosphere you want to create, then choose the readings, music, rituals and contributions that hold meaning for you.
If you want a warm, thoughtful ceremony created entirely around your relationship, enquire about your wedding date. I would love to hear what you are imagining.
Hello! I’m Sinéad, an independent celebrant based in the UK.
I’m a big believer that your wedding ceremony should the final highlight of an extraordinary journey. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to notice, celebrate and share the significance of your relationship with the people you love. I love hearing people’s stories, celebrating love in all its forms and helping couples create a day that feels relaxed, joyful and completely their own.
Come and discover more about my ceremonies here, or pop over and say hello on Instagram here.
Some questions you might have…
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One or two readings are usually enough. A single carefully chosen piece can be more memorable than several included simply to fill time. If you choose two, give each one a distinct purpose or tone.
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Most readings work well when they take around one to three minutes to deliver. Read yours aloud at a natural pace and remember that the reader may speak more slowly during the ceremony.
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Yes, song lyrics, film dialogue and book extracts can provide wonderfully personal inspiration. However, most are protected by copyright. Keep permissions in mind if you plan to reproduce the words on your website, in printed stationery or in any publicly shared recording.
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Choose somebody who will feel comfortable speaking in front of your guests and who understands why the words matter to you. They do not need to be a polished performer; warmth, clarity and a personal connection are far more important.
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Absolutely. A celebrant can suggest readings that suit your relationship and the atmosphere you want to create. They can also help you edit the length, choose its position and create a natural introduction so it feels connected to the rest of your ceremony.
Wedding ceremony services for couples
I offer two ways to work with me, depending on whether you would like me to create and lead your ceremony or help you create it yourselves.
