64 of the Best Wedding Poems for Every Couple

Whether you’re looking for wedding poems to use during a reading, or wedding poem speeches, you’ll find lots of romantic, traditional and funny poems for weddings in our round-up.

These wedding day poems all vary in length, with some ideal for stand-alone readings and some short enough to slot into your winning wedding speech. From religious odes to classical texts and funny haikus that will get the congregation giggling, you’re bound to find something perfect below.

65 of the Best Wedding Poems

Looking for a specific on your wedding day poem, or in a hurry? Use the sections below to find the perfect wedding poems for you!

• Popular Wedding Poems
• Traditional Wedding Poems
• Romantic Wedding Poems
• Funny Wedding Poems
• Religious Wedding Poems
• Short Wedding Poems
• Modern Wedding Poems
• Irish Wedding Poems

Popular Wedding Poems

From Shakespeare to Mark Twain, these wedding poems are the top picks from our whole library. All of these popular wedding poems would not only make great readings, but can even be adopted as wedding vows, too.

Hitched Tip: These wedding poems are popular for very good reason - they are the best of the best! But if you're keen to make popular and often-used wedding poems stand out, try getting creative with your delivery or taking parts of a poem instead of reading the whole thing verbatim. 

1. I Carry Your Heart With Me - E.E. Cummings 

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

2. The One - Unknown

When the one whose hand you’re holding
Is the one one who holds your heart
When the one whose eyes you gaze into
Gives your hopes and dreams their start,
When the one you think of first and last
Is the one who holds you tight,
And the things you plan together
Make the whole world seem just right,
When the one whom you believe in
Puts their faith and trust in you,
You’ve found the one and only love
You’ll share your whole life through.

3. This Day I Married My Best Friend - Unknown

This day I married my best friend.
The one I laugh with as we share life’s wonderous zest,
as we find new enjoyments and experience all that’s best.
The one I live for because the world seems brighter
as our happy times are better and our burdens feel much lighter.
The one I love with every fibre of my soul.
We used to feel vaguely incomplete, now together we are whole.

4. Wedding Prayer - Robert Louis Stevenson

Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank you for this place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us,
for the peace accorded us this day,
for the hope with which we expect the morrow,
for the health, the work, the food,
and the bright skies that make our lives delightful;
for our friends in all parts of the earth.

5. 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.

6. Eskimo Love Song - Unknown

You are my husband, you are my wife
My feet shall run because of you
My feet dance because of you
My heart shall beat because of you
My eyes see because of you
My mind thinks because of you
And I shall love, because of you.

Traditional Wedding Poems

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Everyone knows and loves these timeless wedding poems – and for good reason. However long ago they were written, they capture the universal truth about love and what it really means.

Hitched Tip: Having a modern wedding with little to no tradition? If so, choosing traditional poems for your wedding can be your nod to tradition and even act as your 'something old'. If you want an element of traditional wedding poetry without it lasting too long, take a verse or two from your favourite instead of having the whole thing. 

7. Love's Philosophy Love and Friendship Extract - Emily Bronte

Love is like the wild rose-briar
Friendship like the holly tree
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms
But which will bloom most constantly?
The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-briar fair?
Then, scorn the silly rose-wreath now
And deck with thee the holly’s sheen,
Then when December blights thy brow
He still may leave thy garland green.

8. Hope Is The Thing With Feathers - Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.

9. How Do I Love Thee? - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being an ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old grief’s, and with my childhood’s faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,–I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!– and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

10. Sonnet 116 - William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds,
or bends with the remover to remove:
Oh, no! It is an ever-fixed mark.
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
it is the star to every wandering bark,
whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool,
though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle’s compass come;
love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
but bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

11. Love (III) - George Herbert

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
Form my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack’d anything.

A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here:
Love said, You shall be he.
I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?

Truth, Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?
My dear, then I will serve.
You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.

12. The Owl and the Pussy Cat - Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
‘O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!’

Pussy said to the Owl, ‘You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! Too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?’
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

‘Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?’ Said the Piggy, ‘I will.’
So they took it away, and were married nest day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

13. O My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose - Robert Burns 

O my Luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O my Luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ ’twere ten thousand mile!

14. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love - Christopher Marlowe

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherds’ swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

15. The Good-Morrow - John Donne

I wonder by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
‘Twas so ; but this, all pleasures fancies be;
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.

And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone;
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown;
Let us possess one world ; each hath one, and is one.

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
Where can we find two better hemispheres
Without sharp north, without declining west ?
Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;
If our two loves be one, or thou and I
Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die.

16. Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms - Thomas Moore

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly to-day,
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Live fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervour and faith of a soul may be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear!
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets
The same look which she turned when he rose!

17. The Married Lover - Coventry Patmore

WHY, having won her, do I woo?
Because her spirit’s vestal grace
Provokes me always to pursue,
But, spirit-like, eludes embrace;
Because her womanhood is such
That, as on court-days subjects kiss
The Queen’s hand, yet so near a touch
Affirms no mean familiarness,
Nay, rather marks more fair the height
Which can with safety so neglect
To dread, as lower ladies might,
That grace could meet with disrespect;
Thus she with happy favour feeds
Allegiance from a love so high
That thence no false conceit proceeds
Of difference bridged, or state put by;
Because, although in act and word
As lowly as a wife can be
Her manners, when they call me lord,
Remind me ’tis by courtesy;
Not with her least consent of will,
Which would my proud affection hurt,
But by the noble style that still
Imputes an unattained desert;
Because her gay and lofty brows,
When all is won which hope can ask,
Reflect a light of hopeless snows
That bright in virgin ether bask;
Because, though free of the outer court
I am, this temple keeps its shrine
Sacred to heaven; because, in short,
She’s not and never can be mine.

Romantic Wedding Poems

From classic to contemporary love poems, these gorgeous romantic poems will make your heart skip a beat when you hear them read during your ceremony or included in a speech at your reception.

Hitched Tip: If you're looking for inspiration for your wedding vows, love poems for weddings can be a great place to start. Wedding poems about love and romance add a feeling of sweet sentiment. 

18. 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.

19. The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

 Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise on your lips.

20. I Belong In Your Arms - Deborah Brideau

I belong in your arms
Finally, I have found a place
Into which I fit perfectly, safely
And securely with no doubts,
No fears, no sadness, no tears.

This place is filled with happiness and laughter
Yet it is spacious enough, to allow me
The freedom to move around,
To live my life and be myself.
This wonderful place, which I never believed really existed,
I have found finally
Inside your arms, Inside your heart, inside your love.

21. Falling Stars - Rainer Maria Rilke

Do you remember still the falling stars
that like swift horses through the heavens raced
and suddenly leaped across the hurdles
of our wishes–do you recall? And we
did make so many! For there were countless numbers
of stars: each time we looked above we were
astounded by the swiftness of their daring play,
while in our hearts we felt safe and secure
watching these brilliant bodies disintegrate,
knowing somehow we had survived their fall.

22. With You In My Heart - Mick Jennings

With you in my heart, my life is complete,
You’re the air that I breathe and the food that I eat.
You are my soulmate, the beat in my heart,
It feels like a year each second we’re apart.

With you in my heart I’m walking on air,
I can imagine your perfume and the touch of your hair.
Your beautiful eyes, so kind and so green,
The loveliest sight I ever have seen.

With you in my heart, I am brim full of pride,
It’s as though I can achieve anything with you by my side.
You’re my rock, you’re my angel, my one true love,
You’re my present from heaven, my gift from above.

With you in my heart, I love you so much,
How caring you are, my soul you do touch.
You’re a beautiful princess, a pleasure to know,
My love for you just continues to grow.

With you in my heart, I’m the happiest man on earth,
I feel God has planned this since the day of my birth.
I could never love anyone the way I love you,
I hope and I pray that you feel the same way too.

With you in my heart, through the good and the bad,
I’ll be there when you need me, when you’re hurting or sad.
In fact I’ll be there for you any night, any day,
Whenever you need me, you just have to say.

With you in my heart, it really makes my day,
With the things that you do and the things that you say.
You and Eva deserve happiness and I will ensure,
From now, only good times come knocking at your door.

With you in my heart, I hope it feels good,
And that I am caring for you the way that I should.
I will always be happy, just by the love that you give,
I will protect you and love you for as long as I live.

23. The Future - Emma Salmon

In my future I see you and me,
And a house and garden filled with trees.
I see dinner parties surrounded by friends,
And a vegetable patch we love to tend.
I see cosy nights in front of the fire,
And a four-poster bed for when we tire.
I see our kitchen which will be the heart of the home,
And a Victorian bath brimming with foam.
I see muddy wellies by the front door,
And the kids eating cookies and asking for more.
I see nights in the garden camping under the stars,
And shelves full of mismatching local jam jars.
I see family picnics outside with the dog,
And a little blue shed containing the logs.
I see us sat by the window watching the snow,
And reading the papers and learning to grow.
I see pictures of family in quirky frames,
And letters on the kids’ doors spelling out their names.
I see laughter, pain, kisses and tears,
And helping each other to confront our fears.
I see you as my friend and also my lover,
Your confidant and your children’s mother.
I see a wonderful future for you and I,
And it’s cloaked in love until we die.

24. On Marriage - Kahlil Gibran

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

25. My Delight and Thy Delight - Robert Bridges

My delight and thy delight
Walking, like two angels white,
In the gardens of the night:

My desire and they desire
Twining to a tongue of fire,
Leaping live, and laughing higher:

Thro’ the everlasting strife
In the mysteries of life.
Love, from whom the world begun,
Hath the secret of the sun.

Love can tell, and love alone,
Whence the million stars were strewn,
Why each atom knows its own,
How, in spite of woe and death,
Gay is life, and sweet is breath:

This he taught us, this we knew,
Happy in his science true,
Hand in hand as we stood
‘Neath the shadows of the wood,
Heart to heart as we lay
In the dawning of the day.

26. To My Dear and Loving Husband - Anne Bradstreet

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the east doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay.
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

27. Extracts from Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare

Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs;
Being purg’d, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes;
Being vex’d, a sea norish’d with lovers’ tears;
What is it else? A madness most discreet,
A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.
(Act l.i)

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
Her beauty hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an ear;
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crow,
As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand,
And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!
For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.
(Act l.v)

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east and Juliet is the sun!
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou her maid art more fair than she.
Be not her maid, since she is envious.
Her vestal livery is but sick and green,
And none but fools do wear it. Cast it off.
It is my lady; O it is my love!
O that she knew she were!
She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that?
Her eye discourses; I will answer it.
I am too bold; ‘tis not to me she speaks.
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.
What if he eyes were there, they in her head?
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars
As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
See how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!
(Act ll.ii)

28. Extracts from Arcadia - Sir Philip Sidney

My true-love hath my heart and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss;
There was never a better bargain driven.
His heart in me keeps me and him in one;
My heart in him, his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for it was once his own;
I cherish his because it bides.
His heart his wound received from my sight;
My heart was wounded with his wounded heart;
For as from me on him his hurt did light,
So still, me thought, in me his hurt did smart:
Both equal hurt, in this change sought our bliss,
My true love hath my heart and I have his.

29. She Walks in Beauty - Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

30. Sonnet XVII - Pablo Neruda

I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the Earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don’t know any other way of loving.

But this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

31. A Birthday - Christina Georgina Rossetti

My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these,
Because my love is come to me.

Raise me a daïs of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.

32. Fidelity - D.H. Lawrence

Man and woman are like the Earth, that brings forth flowers
in summer, and love, but underneath is rock.

Older than flowers, older than ferns, older than foraminiferae,
older than plasm altogether is the soul underneath.

And when, throughout all the wild chaos of love
slowly a gem forms, in the ancient, once-more-molten rocks
of two human hearts, two ancient rocks,
a man’s heart and a woman’s,
that is the crystal of peace, the slow hard jewel of trust,
the sapphire of fidelity.

The gem of mutual peace emerging from the wild chaos of love.

Funny Wedding Poems

Sweet and sentimental love poems aren’t for everyone. The truth is your marriage will have many moments in which you’ll need a good sense of humour to get you through! Show off your personality and the silly side that keeps you two laughing together with these funny wedding poems.

Hitched Tip: When it comes to funny wedding poems, speeches and vows, there's always a line, and the line can sometimes be thin. We'd recommend sense-checking anything that feels too on-the-nose with someone trusted, just to be sure that it's the kind of thing everyone'll find funny. 

33. Dear Heart - Hayley Gait-Golding 

Dear Heart,

I’d like it if you’d tell me
How you measure love.
Do you deal in ounces and quarters?
Or stroke it with kid gloves?

How do you pick who gets it
Because I’d really like a say
And why is it that some people
Get more and more each day?

Another thing I’d like to know
Is how love measures time?
Is it founded in an instant?
Then lasts a whole lifetime?

Does it grow and grow your whole life through
So I have more and more
Or is there just a set amount
You get at birth then store?

What happens if it’s stolen?
Or if I cease to love
Does it all come back untarnished?
With interest on the above.

How can I know its importance?
Do you give it certain ranks?
Could I say that’s 1st or 2nd class?
Like I do with postage stamps.

Is true love like in stories?
Like old fashioned fairy tales
Cinderella meets Prince Charming
And only love prevails

Why is it then that nowadays?
Love sometimes takes the course
Of starting off with marriage
But ending in divorce

Is love equal in proportions?
For families and for friends
For husbands, wives and children
Where does it ever end?

To let me know what’s going on
Let's strike a little deal
Beat slowly for the phoneys
And fast if it’s for real!

34. Wedding Vow Haiku - Tracy Davidson

I promise to love
and will gladly honour you
but obey? no way!

35. Marriage - Mrs Dawn Moore

Weeks and weeks to prepare
Running here and there
Arranging the church
Your vows to rehearse
Hoping your day will be bliss
Preparing the guest list none amiss
Flowers, rings, the wedding cake
Present list for you to make
Wedding cars, ribbons to tie
Emotions running high
Finally the day is here
Time is drawing near
Meet your man, make your vow
Happiness at least for now
Two people joined together as one
Hanky panky when guests have gone.

36. Roll on the Wedding! - Catherine Smith

The band has been booked, the cake has been made,
the photographer’s chosen, all bills have been paid.
The guests are decided, the menu too;
Something borrowed? Check! Ditto old and blue.

The stationery’s been ordered, along with the flowers,
favours are done after fiddling for hours.
The stag do’s a blur, same goes for the hen –
won’t be drinking that much in one sitting again!

The dress has been picked, accessories bought;
there’s nothing to schedule, no more to sort.
After endless to-do lists for over a year,
it’s time to relax; the big day is here!

Sitting here with my girls as our hair gets done,
I can’t help feeling lucky to have found ‘the one’ –
Just think, by lunchtime I’ll be his new wife!
Roll on the wedding, and our new married life!

37. A Groom's Thoughts - Craig Astley

Wakey wakey open your eyes,
Today is the best day in both of our lives.
Today we’ll be joined in matrimony,
Us together my Princess, you and Me.

Climb out of bed my darling and begin to dress,
I know today you’re sure to impress,
With a flowing outfit I am longing to see,
Made more perfect with your glowing, natural beauty.

Your hair’s been done perfect, your make up too,
Soon we’ll be married and my dreams will come true.
At the church I’ll be waiting for you to arrive,
To begin the new chapter of the rest of our lives.

There at the church I eagerly wait,
For you to arrive of course fashionably late,
Over the brow the car does appear,
Soon you’ll be in my arms with nothing to fear.

The wedding march begins the room filled with pride,
To see the joining of love between myself and my bride,
As you walk down the aisle the emotion is felt,
And as my eyes fix upon you my heart does melt.

The ceremony begins and love fills the air,
The love we feel for each other so pure so rare,
With tears in our eyes we say our I do’s,
And promise to each other this love we won’t lose.

The ceremonies over, the register is signed,
The woman I’ve married I was lucky to find,
Next to the reception where good times awaits,
To celebrate the love of two perfect soulmates.

At the reception the food begins to arrive,
On each table conversations are alive,
Two families mixing and becoming one,
New friends and acquaintances now the welcomes are done.

Soon are the speeches from best man and co.,
With smiles and warmth from laughter in flow,
Then with the toasts to us the two,
I gaze and feel my full love for you.

Now the first dance in front of our guests,
Stood close together chest to chest,
The music is flowing my heart begins to pull,
My wife in my arms my life is now full.

The evening begins and the drinks start to flow,
Everyone’s dancing and enjoying the show,
But times getting on and the room starts to empty,
We thank them for coming and sharing emotions a-plenty.

The evening draws to a close and soon it will end,
But never will our love with me and my best friend,
Our memories of this day will last forever so true,
And remember my wife I will always love you!

38. My Son's Bride - Vivien Hampshire

I’m losing my boy
And I know that I oughta
Be jumping with joy
That I’m gaining a daughter
But…

The hemline’s too high above the knee,
She says wearing white is hypocrisy,
There’s no sign of a veil to hide her face,
And she’s gone for fur instead of lace.
She looks bemused when I mention a train;
Says they’ll be heading for Greece on a plane.
No, it certainly wouldn’t be my kind of dress,
But will she make him happy?
Yes.

I’m losing my boy
And I know that I oughta
Be jumping with joy
That I’m gaining a daughter
But…

She says hats you only wear once are a waste,
She has unruly hair and unusual taste.
Shouldn’t we be spending money (and hours)
Selecting the venue and picking the flowers?
But it’s registry office, a girl as best man,
Pie and chips at the pub, and no seating plan.
Whatever goes on in her head? I can’t guess,
But will she make him happy?
Yes.

I’m losing my boy
And I know that I oughta
Be jumping with joy
That I’m gaining a daughter
But…

She’s having cupcakes in place of three tiers,
Champagne is standing aside for cold beers,
And where the diamond should be on her hand
There’s a miniscule pearl on a thin pewter band.
I can’t say it’s quite what I would have chosen,
But I bite my tongue. My smile is frozen.
She’s not who I’d imagined, I have to confess,
But will she make him happy?
Yes.

39. 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.

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,
My muse, my joy, my fun.
Please be my one and only,
Cos you’ve always been ‘The One’.

Religious Wedding Poems

Religious wedding poems or readings are a fantastic way to honour your faith on your wedding day. Among our selection here you’ll find both bible verses and prayers that read just as beautifully as a poem.

Hitched Tip: If you and your partner are from different religious backgrounds, including religious wedding poems can be a great way to blend your faiths and ensure that there are parts of both religions within your ceremony. 

40. Ecclesiastes 4

Two are better than one;
Because they have a good reward for their labour.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow:
But woe to him that is alone when he falleth;
For he hath not another to help him up.
Again, if two lie together, then they have heat:
But how can one be warm alone?
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him;
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

41. Proverbs 31

Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,
So that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
Strength and honour are her clothing;
And she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

42. Prayer of Saint Francis Assisi

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hated, let us sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;
O divine master, grant that we may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

43. Extract from A Native American Wedding Ceremony 

May the sun bring you new happiness by day;
May the moon softly restore you by night;
May the rain wash away your worries
And the breeze blow new strength into your being,
And all the days of your life
May you walk gently through the world
and know its beauty.

44. Extract from The Divine Comedy

The love of God, unutterable and perfect,
flows into a pure soul,
the way light rushes into a transparent object.
The more love we receive,
the more love we shine forth;
so that, as we grow clear and open,
the more complete the joy of loving is.
And the more souls who resonate together,
the greater the intensity of their love for,
mirror-like, each soul reflects the other.

45. Wedding Prayer

Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank you for this place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us,
for the peace accorded us this day,
for the hope with which we expect the morrow,
for the health, the work, the food,
and the bright skies that make our lives delightful;
for our friends in all parts of the earth.

Short Wedding Poems

Ideal for slotting into speeches or vows, these short and sweet wedding poems will help you say the words you’ve been struggling to find.

Hitched Tip: Short wedding poems are great if you have a number of people giving readings or speeches, as it ensures that things don't go on for too long. 

46. Again and Again, However We Know The Landscape of Love - Rainer Maria Rilke 

Again and again, however we know the landscape of love
and the little churchyard there, with its sorrowing names,
and the frighteningly silent abyss into which the others
fall: again and again the two of us walk out together
under the ancient trees, lie down again and again
among the flowers, face to face with the sky.

47. Quotes from John Keats

I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion…
I have shudder’d at it.
I shudder no more.
I could be martyr’d for my religion,
Love is my religion
And I could die for that.
I could die for you.

48. Quote from Aristotle

Every heart sings a song, incomplete,
until another heart whispers back.
Those who wish to sing always find a song.
At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.

49. The One - Unknown

When the one whose hand you’re holding,
Is the one one who holds your heart,
When the one whose eyes you gaze into,
Gives your hopes and dreams their start,
When the one you think of first and last
Is the one who holds you tight,
And the things you plan together,
Make the whole world seem just right,
When the one whom you believe in,
Puts their faith and trust in you,
You’ve found the one and only love,
You’ll share your whole life through.

50. 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.

Modern Wedding Poems

Modern poems and readings are perfect for couples looking to move away from tradition and surprise guests with something they likely haven’t heard before.

Hitched Tip: For some, poetry can seem like an outdated ideology, but the reality is that modern wedding poems have never been more popular. Having modern wedding day poems can make all the difference to a speech, vow or reading. 

51. As Once the Winged Energy of Delight - Rainer Maria Rilke

As once the winged energy of delight,
carried you over childhood’s dark abysses,
now beyond your own life build the great,
arch of unimagined bridges.

Wonders happen if we can succeed,
in passing through the harshest danger;
but only in a bright and purely granted,
achievement can we realize the wonder.

To work with Things in the indescribable,
relationship is not too hard for us;
the pattern grows more intricate and subtle,
and being swept along is not enough.

Take your practiced powers and stretch them out,
until they span the chasm between two contradictions…
For the God wants to know himself in you.

52. Four Weddings - Pauline Halliwell

How young we were, what dreams we had
On that bright September day;
As parents, family and friends
Cheered us on our wedded way.

The years passed by; a silver day
Outshone the toil and tears,
As children, family and friends
Rejoiced in happy, blessed years.

The years passed by; a golden day
Bright with love and expectation,
As grandchildren, family and friends
Joined the glorious celebration.

The years passed by; a diamond day
Dawns gently in old age;
So many jewels in our lives
As we travel life’s brief stage.

53.Taking - Andrea Porter

Is this the part where I say I do?
I lost track somewhere around,
us being gathered here together?
I don’t recall anyone objecting.

My mind was somewhere else,
I had this image of us both older
weathered by the years, a scene
of us driving to your mother’s
every Sunday for roast beef.
Discussions about good gravy,
the dog’s arthritis, your sister,
the cost of bedding plants

Do you take this man?
Yes I take him, all of him.
I take his mother, her better gravy,
her hobbling dog, the sucked a lemon sister,
the cost of marigolds and geraniums.
I do, if it’s the price for loving you.

54. Ever Increasing Circles - Helen Marsh

Joining hands, we become a circle,
Complete, connected and timeless,
We are whole, but not exclusive,
We are one and we will live as one,
But with endless others encircled around us,

Our marriage is neither beginning or end,
But a natural progression of our union,
Which finds us bound but not restricted,
All that was separate yields and flows,
Softly, towards the shared path of our future,

On the foundation of past knowledge,
We build modern family, a space of love,
An expanding community of new and old,
Emitting love, light and sublime acceptance,
We find all things reflected back at us,
Everything is provided for,

Together we hand-craft our next life phase,
It is all embracing, welcoming and generous,
The sensuous safety of our self made space,
Helps us to live bravely and without boundaries,
Here we nurture, thrive and multiply,

All history is ours now, set down by us, made by us,
Strong roots continually feed us, everything is possible,
We grow, we build, we share eternally now,
And holding hands, we look up, prepare,
For there is still far to go…

55. A Bridge On The Edge - Martin Richmond

My father’s arm is rock steady,
my dress is streaked with Mum’s tears.
The aisle before me is like a beach,
strewn with the driftwood of my fears.
I’ll get it right,
I’ll take my time,
This is my wedding, not a pantomime.

My Dad’s waistcoat is much too tight,
but he’s grand in his monkey suit.
This do cost him an arm and a leg,
by tonight he’ll be relaxed as a newt.
I’ll get it right,
I’ll take my time,
This is my wedding, not a pantomime.

See all the backs of their heads,
lined up in the wooden pews.
Waiting no doubt for me to trip,
just so they can blame the booze.
I’ll get it right,
I’ll take my time,
This is my wedding, not a pantomime.

Just a few feet more and they’ll stop,
playing that sad, mournful tune.
I hope this isn’t a bad omen,
the minister’s humming High Noon.
I’ll get it right,
I’ll take my time,
This is my wedding, not a pantomime.

All the hassle just melts away,
when I gaze deep into his eyes.
These aren’t just words I speak,
they are ribbons around my prize.
I’ve got it right,
I’ve got the time,
This is our wedding, not a pantomime.

THE END. (or the beginning?)

56. Epithalamium (Nuptial Ode) - Diana Barsham

She was their only daughter –
A bride cake of smiles and rosebud generosity!
Her skin had the glow of twenty vestal virgins
All famed for their beauty –
She was candied peel; she was heart fruit.
The music they chose was like the opening page of a fine biography,
The polished floor of its prose,
A door she had yet to walk through.

Her guests had flung her far from the shore of her beginnings:
A white wave, mother of pearl, inlaid with silver.
Romance on the scale of this slow processional
Turns back into the future
Out of the cocktail of some Cyprian sunrise.

He stands at her side, this anxious jeweller,
His tall hat in his hand.
And oh, for the nurture that has bled into each moment;
Ruby-red or sapphire blue:  the slow incrustation
Of a mineral accomplishment! Here to stay,
The bridesmaids whisper. The memory of this day
Held like a hand in the golden glow of its setting:
These lawns and flowers; this white circle of permanence.

57. Becalmed Bedazzled Bewitched Besotted - Nick Williams

Across the road,
I watched as you window shopped, bag in hand
And as people and cars rushed past, I stood motionless
as a boat
becalmed…

And at that party,
there was a strange aura that hovered around you,
but maybe it was just you, the cheap wine, and me
feeling
bedazzled…

And for weeks after that,
my every waking thought (when my mind was clear enough to think)
has been of you, leaving me
spellbound,
bewitched…

And now here we are,
nervous, on show and in clothes we’ll never wear again,
and I’m still staring at you,
totally
besotted.

58. My Love - Jane Graham

You say you love me
I know it’s true
Without your love
What would I do?

My heart will sing
‘you kiss my soul’
This is the thing
That makes us whole

Together we will face our life
You as my husband
Me your wife
Sharing, caring, journeying on
With only love notes
For our song.

59. Grey - Mrs Heather Grange 

Mid-morning, misty November day,
a taxi ride from Leigh-on-Sea,
to Rochford village,
the river and the estuary,
bird sanctuary and nesting grounds,
the ebb and flow,
on mudflats left by an outgoing tide.
In country lanes, hedges in white embroidery,
where magpies forage, ivy embraces trees,
the world doesn’t stop, muted sounds,
in the fog, aircraft taking off,
trains rumbling by.
The Vicar in flowing surplice waiting,
in a draughty porch,
while candles flicker under Norman vaults,
and the bride wears grey.

60. Proud - Louise Wilson

As I approach the dark, wooden open doors,
As I hear the music start to play,
A rush of excitable nerves take my fear,
As I remember what it took to get to this day.

Hiding beneath a display of friendship,
Creating a web of lies,
Not knowing everyone was watching me fall in love,
The love in my heart shining through my eyes.

Defeating opinions and comments shared,
Telling everyone, I am in love!
My heart taken by a beautiful woman,
For once, love is enough.

So here I am today,
Walking towards you so very proud,
I am in awe as I only see your beauty,
Can’t hear the music nor see the crowd.

I take your hand in mine,
How we fit so perfect, so cleverly,
By far the most perfect day in my life,
Our proud civil ceremony.

Irish Wedding Poems

Whether you're Irish or not, Irish wedding poems are full of wisdom and beauty so make a lovely addition as part of your vows or wedding toasts. 

Hitched Tip: If you're Irish and want to add some Irish tradition to your day, wedding poems are a great way to do so. You can see more Irish wedding traditions here. 

61. Traditional Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you;
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

62. The Lark in the Clear Air - Unknown

Dear thoughts are in my mind and my soul it soars enchanted
As I hear the sweet lark sing in the clear air of the day
For a tender beaming smile to my hope has been granted
And tomorrow he shall hear all my fond heart longs to say
I will tell him all my love, all my soul’s pure adoration
And I know he will hear my voice and he will not answer me nay
It is this that gives my soul all it’s joyous elation
As I hear the sweet lark sing in the clear air of the day.

63. She Moved Through the Fair - Unknown

My love said to me
My Mother won’t mind
And me father won’t slight you
For your lack of kind
Then she stepped away from me
And this she did say
It will not be long love
‘Till our wedding day.

She stepped away from me
And she moved through the fair
And fondly I watched her
Move here and move there
And she went her way homeward
With one star awake
As the swans in the evening
Move over the lake

The people were saying
No two e’er were wed
But one has a sorrow
That never was said
And she smiled as she passed me
With her goods and her gear
And that was the last
That I saw of my dear.

I dreamed it last night
That my true love came in
So softly she entered
Her feet made no din
She came close beside me
And this she did say
It will not be long love
Till our wedding day.

64. My Lagan Love - Unknown

Where Lagan streams sing lullabies,
There blows a lily fair.
The twilight gleam is in her eye,
The night is on her hair.

And like a lovesick lenashee,
She hath my heart in the thrall.
No life have I, no liberty,
For love is Lord of all.

And often when the beetles horn
Has lulled the eve to sleep,
I'll steal into her shieling lorn
And through the doorway creep.

There on the cricket's singing stone,
She makes the bogwood fire
And sings in sweet and undertone,
The song of heart's desire. 

How to Write a Wedding Poem

Are you thinking of writing a wedding poem? It's easier than you think to write a wedding poem! Make a list of things you'd like to address in the poem, then decide if you want it to rhyme or not - work with your list to create a simple wedding poem.

Follow the pattern of having the same amount of syllables per line or every other line to create a rhythm. Don't stress if it's not completely perfect - everyone will be so impressed that you've discovered how to write a wedding poem so they won't be counting beats.

You can also use half rhymes or jokingly change how you pronounce words to make them rhyme - this is especially effective if you want to create a funny poem about marriage.

What Do You Recite at a Wedding?

You may be asked to give a reading at a wedding, and a wedding poem is the perfect thing to recite at a wedding. As you can see, there are so many wonderful wedding poems to choose from, and reciting one at a wedding is a special honour. If you're nervous about reading a marriage poem, opt for a short wedding poem to avoid having to spend too long in the spotlight.

A romantic quote always goes down a storm so give these inspiring marriage quotes a read – they’ll hit you right in the feels!