My Wedding Love Poems

Cecily Breaux

Wedding Love Poems
5 Tips for Success

The wedding wasn't the most elaborate or expensive I have ever been too, but it was the most touching and beautiful.

In fact, it was this experience that led to me to write these articles.

Every bride deserves a wedding like that.

What is the one thing people remember most about weddings?

Well, you may be surprised to find out that many of the things you can spend a lot of time, money, and effort on hardly make an impact at all.

It's not the flowers or the candles.
It's not the banquet hall or the limos.
It's not the music or the band.
It's not the food you serve or the wine you pour.
It's not the length of the train or the color of the cumberbunds.

In fact, it's not any of the things that can cost an absolute fortune. In fact, it's probably the cheapest element of the entire event - but brides who don't know any better almost always neglect it.

Here it is:

Guests remember the words that the people in the wedding say.

That's it. Simple, but it's true.

I know because I lived it. Within weeks of my own wedding the details of all my planning efforts were forgotten - except for the words. .

They remembered what my husband and I said to one another at the ceremony.
They remembered what the best man said at the reception.
They remembered what my father said at the rehearsal party.

These are the kinds of things people will naturally tend to remember - words.

Words are also what is most often recorded. Are you videotaping your wedding? Well, chances are moments like these will take center stage during the recording. And they will be the part everyone will want to rewind and hear again.

The Most Memorable Wedding Ever

I recently attended a wedding that was the most memorable I have ever seen. And it was the words that did it. The bride used love poems in several key parts of the ceremony. It was her tribute to what love - what life - is all about.

As I listened I felt my husband's hand taking mine. In fact, looking around I could see couples all around the church hugging and leaning together as they listened - remembering and sharing. I was so moving.

The wedding wasn't the most elaborate or expensive I have ever been too, but it was the most touching and beautiful. In fact, it was this experience that led to me to write these articles.

Every bride deserves a wedding like that.

Tips to Using Poetry in Your Wedding

I cannot recommend using love poems too highly. They can be powerful - and also witty, and funny if the situation calls for that. The only limit is your imagination... and the poems you can manage to assemble.

Here are some tips so you can use love poems in your wedding effectively:

1.	Observe Copyright Laws Strictly speaking, unless a poem is in the public domain or you have explicit permission to use it, reading it at your wedding or sending it out on your invitations is illegal. It is unlikely, of course, that you will be prosecuted. However, if you have any lawyers in your audience, they'll probably know all this. A lawyer at my friend's wedding was "kind enough" to point out her mistake at the reception hall. Needless to say, the bride found it quite embarrassing when the guests were talking about how she broke the law.
2.	Don't Write Your Own (I should say don't write your own unless you are very, very good.) Poetry is difficult to write, much harder than prose - like vows, for example. Few of us have much practice writing poetry. So unless you are the exception, I wouldn't experiment with an event as important as your wedding. Besides, you will find that choosing the right poem can be just as impressive as writing it yourself. It's also less likely to make people snicker.
3.	Watch the Tone You don't want to use a poem that is too light or cutesy for your ceremony or invitations. Likewise, pick something less formal for the reception or bridal shower - maybe even something a little bawdy.
4.	Consider Classics Nothing speaks tradition like using poems by Shakespeare or Whitman or Shelly. People are often moved to remember that our most cherished feelings are timeless. Finding the right selection might be more difficult, but certainly worth the effort.
5.	*Understand Exactly* What They Mean** This may sound ridiculous, but be careful. Poetry is sometimes difficult to interpret. Mythological and historical allusions are often obscure. Archaic words - like betwixt and doth - appear. Then there's Yoda-speak. You know... twisting the order of verbs and nouns for poetic effect - like Yoda in the Star Wars movies. To read very difficult it is. Make sure your poem is saying what you think it's saying and not something else (which may be inappropriate!).

Finding Good Poems

There are lots of love poems scattered all over the Internet. You can buy books or just surf the Web from site to site to find some for free. There are sites that offer free poems - mostly to entice you to buy other things - like shower favors and stuff like that.

My experience has been that it takes quite a bit of work to find what you are looking for, and most resources available are not well suited for the kind of search needed to find poems specifically for weddings... but they are out there and they are free.

If you would like to save lots of time and effort and dramatically increase the likelihood of finding something you like, then you may be interested in taking a look at the selections I have compiled for you.

Wedding Love Poems - My Personal Collection

To take a look, click here.

Continue to Next Page