Poems and Readings for Weddings and Civil Partnerships

Choosing the right reading for a wedding ceremony can add a distinctive touch that will be remembered for a lifetime. Here are more than 150 evocative choices, ranging from Shakespeare’s sonnets (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”) to a 13th-century Chinese poem by Kuan Tao-sheng (“You and I have so much love/That it burns like a fire/In which we bake a lump of clay”). Couples will also find guidance on acceptable and inappropriate readings in certain services and lists of today’s most popular choices.