Warning: More wedding stuff ahead. I feel bad about the fact that my brother is the only sibling of either Dave or I who isn’t involved in our wedding. My sister is my maid-of-honor, Dave’s brother is his best man, and my brother doesn’t have a “job” at all. There aren’t going to be enough people to require an usher, and I tend to think that most people are intelligent enough to figure out for themselves how to sign a guestbook. So, my sister suggested that perhaps I could have my brother do a reading.
Here’s the problem: I have no idea what on earth he could read. I thought of the love verse from 1st Corinthians in the Bible, but I think that’s totally overdone. Plus, I’m trying to keep the Bible/God/Jesus references to a minimum. I thought about maybe a poem, but my knowledge of poetry is limited at best, and honestly, every poem I can think of is so cheesy that it makes me cringe. So I’m putting out a request here: Any ideas? I’m guessing this is really going to be Sally’s forte, but I know a couple of you other girls who read this might have some suggestions. I need something that seems wedding-y (or at least has love-related overtones), but that won’t make me want to throw up and die. Translation: no Emily Dickinson. Help?
Maybe check out some Pablo Neruda. We're using his Sonnet LXIX as a reading at our wedding.
I read a great passage from Henry James's The Wings of the Dove at Vendela and Herman's wedding. I'll send it to you, along with non-grotesque, non-cheesy poems, if you'd like.
That would be awesome. Send it to poobou76 (at) yahoo (dot) com. Thanks much!
Is your brother an eloquent, comfortable with public speaking type guy? Since there's no homily (I assume, despite the reference to the Louisiana Catholics), maybe he could just speak for a minute or two on a nice, love-central topic that he writes ahead of time?
We're having a minister to make my parents happy, but we're trying to keep the religious references to a minimum. I think we're going to have an inter-faith minister named Revered Mary, who I hear is very cool, and who I'm very excited to meet. (The folks want a minister, they didn't say it had to be a man. I know this is going to bug them, which is why I love the idea.) I think my brother is fine with public speaking, but he is a bit of a good ol' boy and he does have quite a southern drawl. I'm not sure I see him writing anything of his own. Dave & I both like Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116", but I'm not sure if my brother will want to read that or not. I'm trying to give him some options and let him pick what he's most comfortable with.
hrm. If you find anything good, could you send it to me, too? I've been searching the net for something non God-y and non-cheeseball to read at a friend's wedding, and… well, there's a lot of God-y cheeseball crap out there when you search for things like "wedding readings" and the like. If I find anything good, though, I'll be sure to pass it on. good luck. 🙂
I actually read something at a friend's wedding last summer that I love love love. And I might use it at someone else's wedding this fall, too, if she likes it. I will send it to you, Cindy…
Thanks, Gwen! Btw, Alissa, try this site: http://www.todays-weddings.com/planning/readings.phpYou have to weed through a lot of cheesy stuff, but there are a few in there that are pretty good.
Geez, women sure are sentimental.
Carl, how exactly do any of these comments qualify as sentimental?I thought it sounded more like Cindy's trying to avoid sentimental…
I think that was Carl's attempt at sarcasm.
sheesh.my sarcasm radar is unplugged.(I also didn't mean for my question to read as crabbily as it does – I'll now be taking a commenting hiatus…)