What Is the Wedding Prayer?
When you go to a wedding, it is likely that you will hear a prayer--even if the couple is not religious. There are a variety of wedding prayers that work well in multi-faith, religious and secular weddings. Choose one that reflects a blessing that you identify with, and select a close friend to read it to guests during the ceremony.
Other People Are Reading
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Christian Prayers
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One of the most often quoted Christian Bible verses at a wedding is 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. It reads the following: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." This is not a verse about weddings; it is about the qualities of love, but it often is read at weddings.
Jewish Prayers
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At a Jewish ceremony, someone could read this prayer by Rabbi Baal Shem Tov: "From every human being there rises a light that reaches straight to heaven, and when two souls that are designed to be together find each other, their streams of light flow together and a single, brighter light goes forth from their united being."
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Hindu Prayers
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For a Hindi couple, they may enjoy this prayer from the Braham Sutra. It reads the following: "When the one man loves the one woman and the one woman loves the one man, the very angels desert heaven and sit in that hour and sing for joy."
Traditional Poetry
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The poet Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a poem called "A Wedding Prayer," which you can ask someone to read at your wedding. The poem is short and reads the following: "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."
Modern Verses
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Include a poem by Christina Rosetti, who is known for her lyrical, romantic poems, such as this one, titled "Untitled": "What is the beginning? Love. What the course. Love still. What the goal. The goal is Love. On a happy hill Is there nothing then but Love? Search we sky or earth There is nothing out of Love Hath perpetual worth; All things flag but only Love, All things fail and flee; There is nothing left but Love Worthy you and me."
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- Photo Credit Wedding bouquet the bride on background of wedding dress image by Aliaksandr Zabudzko from Fotolia.com
