secular readings

Your Secular Wedding Ceremony

 in Ceremony / Secular wedding / Weddings  tagged secular ceremony / secular readings / secular wedding / wedding / wedding ceremony / wedding party / wedding vows by

Your secular wedding ceremony can be what you truly want it to be. When you’re not constrained by religious requirements, you have the freedom to include only elements that are meaningful to you. The focus of the ceremony can be you as a couple, the love you’ve found together, and the commitment you are making to each other in marriage.

Writing your own vows is a great first step to making your ceremony your own. If you’re not comfortable with that idea, you can choose from literally hundreds of “repeat after me” style vows. Your vows are the public statement of your commitment to each other, so it’s important that they express the promises you want to make. Choosing a reading that reflects your priorities and feelings about love or marriage is another great way to personalize your ceremony. With a secular ceremony your reading can be sourced from any poetry, prose or quotes that speak to you.

Another benefit of choosing your secular wedding ceremony is that you don’t have to include a sermon or homily by your officiant. You can use that time to have your celebrant share highlights of your love story, include an additional reading, or simply have a shorter ceremony. Unity ritual options are nearly limitless in a secular ceremony, and if you want to have a ritual written just for you, many celebrants are willing to do that.

Wedding party surrounds the couple.

While your secular wedding ceremony can have a look and feel of a traditional ceremony, it doesn’t have to. Options for processionals, wedding parties, the ceremony spaces are limited only by your imagination. Perhaps you want your wedding party to stand in a semi-circle around you rather than in straight lines. If you choose to have only one attendant for each of you, they can stand together on one side with the celebrant on the other side of you, balancing the space and keeping you the center of attention.

Civil requirements for marriage are very minimal. Once you get your legal paperwork for your state, your creativity and the skills of your celebrant are the only limitations you’ll encounter. A personal secular ceremony can be the perfect way to begin your wedding celebration if you are non-religious or of different religions and choose to avoid conflicting requirements. Let your personalities and your love for each other shine and you’re sure to have a wonderful, memorable ceremony for you and for your guests.

Readings for Secular Weddings

 in Ceremony / Readings / Secular / Weddings  tagged secular readings / secular wedding / wedding ceremony / wedding readings / weddings by

Readings for secular weddings are not restricted by rules or religious requirements, so you have a virtually endless selection to choose from. Readings can be sourced from anywhere – poetry, prose, song lyrics, even movie or play scripts. You’ll want to pick something that reflects you as a couple and connect it to other elements of the ceremony.

If you are big into nature, perhaps you’ll pick the passage from Walt Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road” that begins:

Afoot and lighthearted, take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before you,
The long brown path before you,
leading wherever you choose.
Say only to one another:
I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
…

Or possibly the nature imagery in this excerpt from Jo Lynne Wood’s “Together” will speak to you:

Two trees near to each other stood
When they were young and life was new.
Their limbs reach out and their branches entwine
And thus together they grew.
Their roots spread out down under the ground
Joining one with the other,
So, from the top in the sky to the heart
In the earth-the two were joined together.
Thru days when the sun was bright and warm
And the winds were temperamental
When a laughing breeze rustled the leaves,
Or when the rain was soft and gentle.
Thru days when the clouds were dark and gray
And cold and fierce the weather
The two stood firm and faced the storms
Because they stood together.

Maybe you like the ancient poetry of Rumi or the modern poetry of ee cummings. Both offer a variety of passages appropriate for a wedding. Readings for secular weddings can focus on an interest you share like bike riding, or perhaps you want to honor your children by choosing a piece of children’s literature. There is “A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Monkton about two special dinosaurs, or multiple passages from Dr. Seuss that can be fun and memorable.

How would you describe yourselves as a couple? Fun loving, serious, romantic, traditional, creative? There are readings for secular weddings that will speak to all kinds of couples with all kinds of interests. By choosing a reading thoughtfully, your guests will see another part of your relationship and feel even more connected to you. Take the time to select a reading that speaks to you about love or marriage in a way that is meaningful to you, and it will truly be a remembered moment in your wedding ceremony.