Read it & weep

No ceremony is complete without a couple of heartfelt readings, but how do you decide who, what and when?

Considering it’s the most important part of any wedding, the ceremony, rather surprisingly, is something that many engaged couples tell us they feel pretty clueless about. They’ll have spent hours poring over the finer details of catering or venue decor, and have learned all there is to know about the latest fashion in cake flavours or buttonholes, but question them about their plans for the actual exchange of vows and the service that surrounds it, and many will admit they simply aren’t too sure.

Is this just a result of general embarrassment about all things emotional? We Scots are hardly the best at opening up about our feelings, after all. If that is the case, it’s time we made a change. When you’ve gone to the trouble of gathering together your closest friends and family so they can watch the pair of you commit yourselves to one another for the rest of your lives, you’d better be sure to do it in style – and that, more often than not, means embellishing your service with a reading or two.

We’d never doubt the love you feel for each other, but we know it can be difficult to articulate the intensity of that passion, especially when all eyes are upon you. That’s where the words of others can come in useful, as Paula Wilkinson, a celebrant with Fuze Ceremonies, explains: “Readings help to tell a couple’s story and emphasise their personality. Generally speaking, the pieces will be chosen by the pair because they resonate with them in some way – perhaps because they’re excerpts from their favourite film or from a much-loved childhood book.”

READ-Y, SET, GO

As you go deeper into the planning process, you’re probably finding that you’re having to digest an awful lot of information. Whether it’s researching venues, going over supplier contracts or browsing bridal blogs for inspo, you might feel you’re going cross-eyed with the sheer volume of material you’re reading.

In which case, it’s understandable if the last thing you want to do is spend hours leafing through poetry collections and novels, hoping you’ll come across a passage that takes your fancy. But the truth is that sourcing wedding readings needn’t be a chore; in fact, it could be one of the most rewarding experiences you and your partner enjoy together during this time.

“We’d encourage couples to dig deep by thinking back to the first movie they watched together, their treasured childhood book, or the song they sing their hearts out to whenever they hear it,” Paula suggests. “After gleaning lots of this kind of significant inspiration, we then advise that they dissect the piece in question to see if anything resonates or stands out. You can find magical and unique readings in the most unlikely places.”