Listen, we get it — traditional religious readings and speeches aren’t for everyone. Your wedding is a reflection of your unique love story, and if you’re looking to break away from convention and infuse your ceremony with a touch of personal flair, you’re not alone.
Having a poetry reading as part of your wedding ceremony is a creative and artistic way to express your feelings of love and happiness on your big day. Whether you choose a classic piece that has stood the test of time or a contemporary gem that speaks to your unique connection, a well-chosen poem can really elevate your ceremony.
However, you’ll need a poem that fits the vibe of your wedding. We’ve compiled a collection of our 15 favourite wedding poems. So, whether you’re looking for something short, romantic, non-religious, modern, or rhyming, we’ve got you covered. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a simple quote about love, check out our dedicated post featuring 110 inspiring love quotes for your wedding day.
What makes a good love poem?
A good love poem is anything that touches the hearts of you and your partner and reflects your personal love story. It can be long or short, rhyming or not rhyming, and even have a joke in there if you’d like! The most important thing is that it means something to you and your partner.
Love poems are the perfect alternative to wedding vows, readings, or even speeches if you’re stuck for words. They’re also a great way to gain inspiration, structure your vows or speech, or simply make your wedding day more artistic and poetic.
How can I incorporate poems about love in my speech or message?
There are a few ways you can incorporate poems about love into your wedding speech or message:
- Instead of a speech or vows. If the cat’s got your tongue or you’re feeling the wedding day nerves, using a love poem in place of your own vows or speech can be a great way to calm your nerves. Love poems are expertly written and many have stood the test of time, making them the perfect addition to your special day.
- As inspiration. If you love the way a poem makes you feel, but aren’t crazy about the words, consider using it to inspire your wedding vows or speech. For example, instead of, “I will love you in a unique and tender way,” you could try, “I truly believe there isn’t a love as unique or tender as ours.”
- Use a few lines of the love poem. Try peppering your vows or speech with a few lines from your favourite poem. You could even quote your favourite part of the poem. For example, “Pablo Nerunda says, ‘I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride’. That’s especially true of James and I. Our love isn’t over the top or fluffy — it’s safe and secure. Uncomplicated.”
3 short wedding poems
1. The Minute I Heard My First Love Story – Rumi
The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you,
not knowing how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.
2. When Two People Are At One – I Ching
When two people are at one in their inmost hearts,
they shatter even the strength of iron or bronze.And when two people understand each other in their inmost hearts,
their words are sweet and strong,
like the fragrance of orchids.
3. In Your Light I Learn How To Love – Rumi
In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.You dance inside my chest, where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.
3 romantic wedding poems
1. Devoted – Lori Eberhai
My heart can be your home,
my soul can be your refuge.
You can turn to me when you are weak,
you can call to me when the way is not clear.
I will be your promise and your prayer,
I will always be there,
Constant and complete.
Run to me,
reach out for me,
and I will love you in a unique and tender way.
Bring your love to me,
share your love with me,
sing your love to me,
and I will offer you peace, ease and comfort.
2. Stardust – Lang Leav
If you came to me with a face I have not seen,
with a name I have never heard,
I would still know you.
Even if centuries separated us,
I would still feel you.
Somewhere between the sand and the stardust,
through every collapse and creation,
there is a pulse that echoes of you and I.
When we leave this world,
we give up all our possessions and our memories.
Love is the only thing we take with us.
It is all we carry from one life to the next.
3. I’ll Be There For You – Louise Cuddon
I’ll be there my darling, through thick and through thin
When your mind’s in a mess and your head’s in a spin
When your plane’s been delayed, and you’ve missed the last train.
When life is just threatening to drive you insane
When your thrilling whodunit has lost its last page
When somebody tells you, you’re looking your age
When your coffee’s too cool, and your wine is too warm
When the forecast said “Fine”, but you’re out in a storm
When your quick break hotel, turns into a slum
And your holiday photos show only your thumb
When you park for five minutes in a resident’s bay
And return to discover you’ve been towed away
When the jeans that you bought in hope or in haste
Just stick on your hips and don’t reach round your waist
When the food you most like brings you out in red rashes
When as soon as you boot up the bloody thing crashes
So my darling, my sweetheart, my dear…
When you break a rule, when you act the fool
When you’ve got the flu, when you’re in a stew
When you’re last in the queue, don’t feel blue,‘Cause I’m telling you, I’ll be there.
3 non-religious wedding poems
1. Time travellers – Terah Cox
May you take on the world together
with all your hopes and dreams,
May you be each other’s anchor
in smooth or rocky seas.
May you bend to the world’s winds
and brave stalls and storms,
May you find common ground
in all its changing forms.
May you cross stubborn boundaries
and turn many a stone,
May you find haven for your souls,
may you have heart and home.
And if some nights are grey,
and some nights are long and cold,
May you be each other’s sun and moon
as your destinies unfold.
And should you lose sight of each other
and start to drift apart,
May you circle back by following the compass of your hearts.
2. Marriage Advice – Jane Wells
Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger.
Learn the wisdom of compromise,
For it is better to bend a little than to break.
Believe the best rather than the worst.
People have a way of living up or down to your opinion of them.
Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship.
The person you choose to marry
is deserving of the courtesies and kindness you bestow on your friends.
Please hand this down to your children and your children’s children.
3. To Love Is Not To Possess – James Kavanaugh
To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another — and to one’s inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are — and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.
3 modern wedding poems
1. Sonnet XVII ― Pablo Neruda
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this:
where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
2. Wedding Vow Haiku – Tracy Davidson
I promise to love
and will gladly honour you
but obey? no way!
3. Variations On The Word Love – Margaret Atwood
This is a word we use to plug
holes with. It’s the right size for those warm
blanks in speech, for those red heart-
shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing
like real hearts. Add lace
and you can sell
it. We insert it also in the one empty
space on the printed form
that comes with no instructions. There are whole
magazines with not much in them
but the word love, you can
rub it all over your body and you
can cook with it too. How do we know
it isn’t what goes on at the cool
debaucheries of slugs under damp
pieces of cardboard? As for the weed-
seedlings nosing their tough snouts up
among the lettuces, they shout it.
Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising
their glittering knives in salute.
Then there’s the two
of us. This word
is far too short for us, it has only
four letters, too sparse
to fill those deep bare
vacuums between the stars
that press on us with their deafness.
It’s not love we don’t wish
to fall into, but that fear.
This word is not enough but it will
have to do. It’s a single
vowel in this metallic
silence, a mouth that says
O again and again in wonder
and pain, a breath, a finger
grip on a cliffside. You can
hold on or let go.
3 rhyming wedding poems
1. These I Can Promise – Mark Twain
I cannot promise you a life of sunshine;
I cannot promise riches, wealth, or gold;
I cannot promise you an easy pathway
That leads away from change or growing old.
But I can promise all my heart’s devotion;
A smile to chase away your tears of sorrow;
A love that’s ever true and ever growing;
A hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow.
2. What’s Mickey Without Minnie? Author unknown
What’s Mickey without Minnie,
Or Piglet without Pooh,
What’s Donald without Daisy?
That’s me without you.
When Ariel doesn’t sing,
and Pooh hates honey,
when Tigger stops bouncing,
and Goofy isn’t funny.
When Peter Pan can’t fly,
and Simba never roars,
when Alice no longer fits through small doors.
When Dumbo’s ears are small, and happily ever after isn’t true,
Even then, I won’t stop loving you.
3. Be My Homer – CJ Munn
Be my Homer
I wanna be your Marge.
If I’m your Norfolk Broads
Will you be my barge?
Let’s please be Tom and Barbara,
I will show you The Good Life.
Even though we’re not yet married
I would love to be your wife.
I’ve the passion Lily Munster
has for her dear Herman.
I would love you if you were ginger,
I would love you if you were German.
Like Mr and Mrs Huxtable,
We’d smooch even when we’re wrinkly.
I’ll even consider ironing your shirts,
But I hope you like them crinkly.
Like Mr and Mrs Incredible
I’m flexible and you’re tough.
But if you promise to be my true love
That will always be enough.
Like Bonny and that Clyde guy
without all the dying.
Like Gwyneth and that Coldplay man
without all the crying.
My partner in crime, the love of my life.
Plan your dream wedding with Bridebook
If you’re looking for something more engaging than a simple wedding speech, love poetry is the perfect fit. A great wedding poem can take the place of a wedding speech, vows, or even reading. However, you can also use them as inspiration for your speech or vows, or quote them directly if you’d prefer. In the realm of wedding poetry, there are no limits.
In the realm of wedding poetry, there are no limits. You can find long poems or short ones, romantic or funny, religious or not — the possibilities are endless. You can choose verses that resonate with your shared sense of humour, tug at the heartstrings, or celebrate your unique journey together. Try to pick something that’s relevant to you as a couple and your love story.
So, whatever kind of wedding you’re planning, there will be a wedding poem for you. Read our posts on crafting a funny wedding speech or wedding speech ideas to learn how to effortlessly incorporate a love poem into your vows or speeches!
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