Non-religious (even Disney-inspired or related) readings?

[DisneyLeah]

Hi all - We are working on our ceremony and just cannot decide on a reading to include. We've looked for movie quotes, lyrics, etc, but nothing is quite right just yet.

We're looking for something with a little humor or even something inspired by or related to Disney. Does anyone have a suggestion?

What kinds of readings have you used, are you planning to use, or have you seen used at other weddings?

thank you!
Leah

 

[CosmicLove]

I wish I had suggestions for you... but I'm wondering the same...

 

[ChocoKat]

We are having a love poem read (Shakespeare Sonnet 116, it has always been my favorite since I was very young). Maybe look for sonnets/poems that speak to you and your DF.
Also literary passages can be used. Just google "Poems for wedding ceremonies" or "Literary readings for weddings"

 

[wintermouse]

We are reading the poem The Art Of Marriage. I thought it was nice but was not scripture or another religious reading. HTH

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 each day.


It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is forming a circle of love 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 finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.


It is not only marrying the right partner...
It is being the right partner.

 

[geek+nerd]

http://weddings.about.com/od/weddingreadings/Directory_of_Wedding_Readings_Religious_Secular_Classic_Unique.htm

We have decided against doing readings at our wedding, but when we were looking at doing them, this is a site I used as a starting point. It has a directory for different types of readings. We were going to use the excerpt from "The Irrational Season" by Madeline L'Engle. I went to a wedding two years ago where they did the excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit.

 

[gemmybear83]

We used a passage from Captain Corelli's Mandolin" by Louis de Berniers

 

[gemmybear83]

We used a passage from Captain Corelli's Mandolin" by Louis de Berniers:

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become 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 of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."

 

[Bippi]

Also song lyrics are a great option too. DF and I were looking into that! Lots of great song lyrics out there!

 

[CosmicLove]

We are reading the poem The Art Of Marriage. I thought it was nice but was not scripture or another religious reading. HTH

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 each day.


It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is forming a circle of love 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 finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.


It is not only marrying the right partner...
It is being the right partner.

Thats really nice.. I like that a lot! thanks for sharing

 

[Bridie1996]

It isn't Disney inspired, but I always liked this poem, and it wouldn't be what is usually read. It would be especially fitting if you guys were animal lovers or have a dog.

Falling In Love Is Like Owning a Dog
by Taylor Mali

First of all, it's a big responsibility,
especially in a city like New York.
So think long and hard before deciding on love.
On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you're walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love
ain't no one going to mess with you.
Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.
Who knows what love could do in its own defense?

On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.

Love doesn't like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.

Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.

Love makes messes.
Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after.
Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper
and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain,
just to let love know Don't you ever do that again!

Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise.
It runs you around the block and leaves you panting.
It pulls you in several different directions at once,
or winds around and around you
until you're all wound up and can't move.

But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.

Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.

 

[DisneyLeah]

Thanks everyone for your posts and suggestions!

I think we have decided to use the following, so I thought I would post it in case anyone else is still reading this thread and looking for more ideas.

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 commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all 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 that 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, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.
For after today you shall say to the world –
This is my husband. This is my wife.

 

[bonjoe]

Thanks everyone for your posts and suggestions!

I think we have decided to use the following, so I thought I would post it in case anyone else is still reading and looking for more idea.

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 commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all 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 that 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, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.
For after today you shall say to the world –
This is my husband. This is my wife.

Oh, LOVE this

 

[brer rabbit 28]

That's a lovely reading.

 

[Pirate's Princess]

Here are some ours. We wrote our entire ceremony and it's total secular. It doesn't even pray anywhere.

Readings:
{BILL} Marriage is in many ways a simplification of life, and it naturally combines the strengths and wills of two young people so that, together, they seem to reach farther into the future than they did before. Above all, marriage is a new task and a new seriousness, - a new demand on the strength and generosity of each partner, and a great new danger for both. The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of their solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust.

{ANDREW} A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distances exist, a marvelous living side by side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky.
​From Letters to A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
{KELLY} There’s no other love in the world like yours. *There’s no other life like the one you will share. *As two pebbles in a pool spread ripples forever outward, your two lives will blend into one and widen and grow through the days of your love. *But each of you will still be you, two people, separate, original, and independent, even in your togetherness. *Just as the flame of two candles can burn apart from one another and yet blend into one light to brighten the same room, you will be as one and still be two.
{MATT} May they build a life together that is bright with laughter of children and the smiles of friends and family. *May their home be a haven from the tensions of our time and wellspring of strength; may it be the one place where they most want to be. *And may the years deal gently with them. *Walking together, may they find much more in life than either would have found alone.

 

[Kimmers127]

I love this thread! I've just begun looking at what readings we might use for our ceremony. I love the quote from Corelli's Mandolin, I've bookmarked that one as a possibility!

 

[Mindyjoy]

Subbing to this thread.

 

[helloirishkitty]

We are using the union as well, as well as "A Lovely Love Story" by Edward Monkton.


The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice.
Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage.
Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur.
The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.

I like this Dinosaur thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.
Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny.
He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now.

I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur, thought the Dinosaur.
She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice.
She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.

But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.
He is also overly fond of things.
Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?

But her mind skips from here to there so quickly thought the Dinosaur.
She is also uncommonly keen on shopping.
Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?

I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.
For they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.

I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping, thought the Dinosaur.
For she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides,
I am not unkeen on shopping either.

Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old.
Look at them.
Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.

And that, my friends, is how it is with love.
Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together.
For the sun is warm.
And the world is a beautiful place

 

[tinkerbell 766]

I love this dinosaur reading!!!

 

[monica9]

I'm looking to do a reading at my sisters wedding . I will do one religious biblical reading and I wanted to do another one that is disney inspired. Anyone have any disney themed readings?

 

[Holstar]

We're using two readings... this poem, to be read by our daughter, because we <3 Winnie, and my SO's nickname is pooh...


Us two
- Winnie the Pooh

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
"Where are you going today?" says Pooh...
"Well, that's very odd 'cos I was too.
"Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.
"Let's go together," says Pooh.

"What's twice eleven?" I said to Pooh,
"Twice what?" said Pooh to Me.
"I think it ought to be twenty two."
"Just what I think myself," said Pooh.
"It wasn't an easy sum to do,
But that's what it is," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what it is," said Pooh.

"Let's look for dragons," I said to Pooh.
"Yes, let's," said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few...
"Yes, those are dragons all right," said Pooh.
"As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That's what they are," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what they are," said Pooh.

"Let's frighten the dragons," I said to Pooh.
"That's right," said Pooh to Me.
"I'm not afraid," I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted "Shoo!
Silly old dragons!"... and off they flew.
"I wasn't afraid," said Pooh, said he,
"I'm never afraid with you."

So wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
"What would I do?" I said to Pooh,
"If it wasn't for you," and Pooh said... "True,
It isn't much fun for One, but Two
Can stick together," says Pooh, says he.
"That's how it is," says Pooh.