Customer Reviews

Words for the Wedding: Creative Ideas for Choosing and Using Hundreds of Quotations to Personalize Your Vows, Toasts, Invitations and More

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Lots of quotations in this book -- many too short or of dubious distinction to include in a wedding ceremony (do you really want to quote a TV or movie character in your wedding?? I don't). The material unique to this volume seemed as if it would be much more useful as humorous or thoughtful snippets to use in the wedding program or toasts. The poetry and short readings are largely selections that you can find elsewhere (many of them the usual suspects), so the real contribution of this book is in the more popular cultural references mentioned above, if your sensibility tends that way.

The thematic/contextual organization is strong and fairly comprehensive -- covering not only the ceremony, but also other kinds of "words" performed at a wedding, such as toasts. I'd suggest using this book with a more substantive and original anthology, such as Into the Garden.

This is a great book; packed with a huge variety of quotes, poems, excerpts. Perhaps my one complaint is that many of the quotes are too short to be used as readings, if that's what you're looking for. But overall the book uses a wide range of creative sources (movies, love letters, poetry, plays, etc.) and will give you lots of ideas and starting points for elements of your own wedding.

From Shakespeare to Sleepless in Seattle, this is one of the best weddding vow books I have read. It offers many reading to choose from. Creating a day that will be unique to the couple getting married, and choosing their own vows.

I should begin by saying I am a practicing non-denominational and interfaith minister. I've been writing and performing marriage ceremonies for many years, now. "Words for the Wedding" is an excellent source of non-Biblical readings, poems, quotations, and other words that can be used within a wedding ceremony, or in a toast, or even on an invitation or thank-you card. It contains many citations I have never seen before, and which are really quite good! On that score, this book is great!

Unfortunately, the authors also offer instructions on writing your own ceremony and vows, and how one interacts with clergy or other individuals who officiate wedding ceremonies. This part is a little misleading.

Most embers of the clergy have a specific liturgy they use for weddings. More liberal practitioners, will often create a place for "personal vow" statements and include specially requested readings in the ceremony. And, we often adjust our content based on the preferences of the bride and groom. But for many reasons, the overall ceremony will follow a basic structure and most of the specific content will be chosen by the person performing the ceremony. There are very few marriage ceremonies that are actually written by the bride and groom.

So my suggestion is, use the content of this book as a treasure trove of interesting and romantic writings that can be incorporated into your wedding. But please, check with the person who will perform the ceremony before spending a lot of time planning and writing your own text.

After I read a lot of these type of books in preparation for my own wedding, I selected this one because of its wide range of time periods, subjects, and types of quotes and selections. Words for the Wedding is perfect if you're interested in a good read with lots of fun, inspiring, or romantic shorter selections for incorporating into other places such as programs, favors, personal vows and toasts. I will admit though, that I did not like many of the longer pieces as much as the shorter ones.