It's coming up to the big day and you want the little ones in your life to play a speaking part in the ceremony. Really, there's nothing as sweet as a child doing a wedding reading. We've chosen our favorite ceremony readings for children and quotes from well-loved children's stories, sweet poems and Disney movies that are the perfect choice for a kid's reading.
From short and sweet quotes that younger children can easily manage, to really meaningful and thoughtful excerpts for the older kids, we've rounded up some great ideas for wedding ceremony readings for children, along with a few tips on how to choose your pieces.
Tips and Things to Consider for Wedding Readings by Children
First and foremost, make sure the child would actually like to do a reading and that their parents are also happy for them to do so. You don't want to force a child to do something they could be nervous about and for them to freeze on the day.
If the child is happy to do a reading, have a parent or bridesmaid walk up with or stand beside the child if they would prefer.
Take into consideration the age and reading level of the child. Make sure that the words are appropriate for children to read and there's nothing too complicated. The shorter the better.
Remember they’ll need lots of practice, so ask their parents or family to help them.
FYI Some kids (particularly pre-teens or teenagers) may be a little more uncomfortable reading about overly romantic and mushy love quotes!
If there are some shy children in the bunch, readings can also be done in groups.
Ceremony Readings for Younger Children
1. Some Things Go Together by Charlotte Zolotow
Pairs of things that go together. Pigeons with park Stars with dark Sand with sea and you with me. … Hats with heads Pillows with beds Sky with blue and me with you.
2. Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss
Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guys who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.
3. An excerpt from Your Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton
I like you a lot. You're funny and kind. So let me explain What I have in mind. I want to be your personal penguin. I want to walk right by your side. I want to be your personal penguin. I want to travel with you far and wide.
4. From Disney's Up
"You and me... we're in a club now. You will always be my greatest adventure."
5. Getting Married Means You'll Have by Nicholas Gordon
Getting married means you'll have Someone's hand to hold, Even when you're feeling sick, Even when you're old.
It means when you sit down to eat, Someone will be there, So you won't have to tell your day To an empty chair.
It means that when you need some help, Someone will help out, Someone always near to you So you won't have to shout.
But best of all is when it's time To turn out all the lights: You won't have to be alone Those long and scary nights.
So even though you don't have toys, You don't have to care: Once you're married you can be Each other's teddy bear.
Ceremony Readings for Older Children
6. How Children See Your Day by Sandra Cook
Today you’re getting married; some say you’re getting wed There’s crowds of people in our house, and strangers in my bed! We had to get up early, take breakfast all together Allowed to have the TV on to listen to the weather Shower time was hectic, should have seen the queue Girls were taking twice as long and air was turning blue Hair was being straightened, perfume being sprayed Nails were being painted, the boys of course delayed Lots of make-up lots of shoes, sparkles in the hair Pretty cards and parcels, flowers everywhere Everyone had new clothes, Dad even wore a suit Mum is looking stunning, and I look kinda cute Posh car turned up at the door, took my Mum away Left me with the other kids but told I couldn’t play Lots of photos lots of fuss, what’s it all about? Parties are for having fun, there’s no need to shout! Mummy looks real pretty, Daddy’s not too bad Someone here is crying but doesn’t look real sad Lots of people laughing, sometimes very loud Then it goes all quiet, lady talking to the crowd Daddy holds Mum closely, putting on a ring Says some words and makes a speech and makes them cry again Mummy takes another ring and puts it on his finger Says some words and makes a speech and then we hear a singer Someone says a poem, lots of people clap Waking up the funny man who’s taking a quick nap Now we are all standing, watching them both kiss They look so very happy, think they call it bliss! Time to do some writing in a great big book And with all those cameras, which way shall we look? Is it nearly over, can I go and play? Let's come back tomorrow, we can do it all again?
7. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.”
8. An extract from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
‘What is REAL?’ asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender before Nana came to tidy the room. ‘Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?’ ‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When someone loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’ ‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit. ‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’ ‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’ ‘ It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.’ ‘I suppose you are real?’ said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only smiled. ‘Someone made me Real,’ he said. ‘That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.’
9. An excerpt from All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum
Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Give them to someone who feels sad. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day. Take a nap every afternoon. Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
10. From Disney's Sleeping Beauty
"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam Yet I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem But if I know you, I know what you'll do You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream"
11. The Owl and The Pussycat by Edward Lear
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat 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 puddy tat! O puddy tat, my love, What a beautiful puddy tat you are, You are You are! What a beautiful puddy tat you are!’ puddy tat said to 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 next 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.
12. Lovely Dinosaur story by Edward Monkton
The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice.
Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage. Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur. The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts. I like this Dinosaur thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny. He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now. I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur, thought the Dinosaur. She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice. She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur. But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. He is also overly fond of things. Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things? But her mind skips from here to there so quickly thought the Dinosaur. She is also uncommonly keen on shopping. Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping? I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. For they are part of what makes him a richly character individual. I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping, thought the Dinosaur. For she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides, I am not unkeen on shopping either. Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old. Look at them. Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs. And that, my friends, is how it is with love. Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together. For the sun is warm.
And the world is a beautiful place.
13. A Story from Humans of New York
One night she asked me to tell her a bedtime story. And I started telling her this long story about Finnegan the Moose. Finnegan was a very dignified moose. But one day a crazy goose named Reginald came and sat on his head. Reginald was a very exciting goose. She was always making bold proclamations, and suggesting crazy adventures, and her tongue was always hanging out of her mouth. Finnegan would always do whatever Reginald suggested. And he’d pretend that he understood her even when she didn’t make sense. Because before Reginald landed on his head, Finnegan’s life was a little boring. It wasn’t a bad life. It was a normal moose life. He just hadn’t met his best friend yet. And he didn’t even know she was out there.
14. An excerpt from Disney's UP (from the animator's script)
Carl sighs. He managed to bring the house to the falls, but Ellie never made it. He closes the book. But as he does, Carl sees something he hadn’t before. The blank pages at the end are no longer blank. A Wedding Photo of the two of them. On a picnic. Celebrating birthdays. Another and another… Carl’s face warms. Ellie lived the life she wanted: she saw adventure in everyday life. A photo of the two of them sitting side by side, together, in their chairs. Beneath it, Ellie had written: “THANKS FOR THE ADVENTURE”.
15. We are all a little weird by Dr. Seuss
We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.