How to Find a Poem for a Wedding Ceremony

A wedding is one of the most important days in a person's life. The hope that everything goes right is universal but the words spoken that day don't have to be. Whether giving a speech, making a toast, or simply presenting a gift to the bride and groom, a poem that has been specially picked to suit the happy couple and the occasion can make a lasting memory for everyone in attendance. Below are a few hints to finding the right poem for a wedding ceremony.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Know the theme of the wedding. Like an outfit, a poem must fit in with the rest of the wedding ceremony. The mood and content must suit the mood of the event and be appropriate for the audience.

2. Question bride and groom about partner's preferences and dislikes when it comes to poetry. Ensuring you don't pick a piece that either the bride or groom truly dislike is always best. Having an idea of images and symbolism enjoyed by the couple will help narrow your search.

3. Ask the happy couple to tell you how they met. This is a story they will be telling for the rest of the life and using it as inspiration for your poem choice is always a nice touch. Make note of location, weather, and any other specifics you wish to include.

4. Search classic poetry sites using keywords that reference the couple. If the bride and groom met in Paris on a summer evening, try putting "Paris" and "night" into a keyword or first line poem search and see what shows up. It's best to start with classical poems as they tend to use vivid language that sounds great in formal settings.

5. Copy and paste favorite poems to a separate word processing file as you go along. Remember to first try line, title, and author searches as you look for poems. Select pieces that sound honest and romantic and for practicality's sake, are reasonably brief.

6. Narrow your search down to a few selections. After spending your time researching and checking various sites take into account specifics, pick your three favorite poems and print them out.

7. Show the groom your three poem choices and ask him to pick the most appropriate. A wedding poem can be a total surprise but its best to check with one of the bridal couple to ensure the perfect response. If the groom thinks his fiancé will like it, she probably will and that assurance is worth spoiling a surprise.

Tips & Warnings

• Classic romantic poems always seem to add just the right touch to weddings but if the bride or groom has a favorite modern author, try to pick one of their pieces. A quick Internet search of the poet's name should present plenty of options.
• Although a framed poem is nice, a first edition printing is super. Look on rare book sites to find an original or at least a vintage copy of your poem to present to the bride and groom.
• Wedding poem selection is a service offered by various wedding planning website if you do not have the time to search for the perfect poem yourself.

Resources

• Netpoets offers list of classical authors, their poems and biographies.
• This site provides easy to read classic poetry selection, including many of the romantics.
• Best-love-poems.com offers links to a variety of love poem and poetry web sites.