We’ve got quite a bit on the blog about wedding ceremony readings and vows (see some of the best non-religious wedding ceremony readings here), but we thought it was time to delve into the world of children’s wedding ceremony readings. It’s always a pretty special experience when younger guests take the stage to give a reading during the ceremony. However, we also know that it can also be quite hard to strike the right balance between a reading which is sufficiently simple for a child’s level but also meaningful. So, we’ve done a bit of the hard work for you and put together 6 of our favourite simple yet impactful children’s wedding ceremony readings, for all ages (adults included – everyone loves a nostalgic reminder of their old favourites from time to time). Read on for more.
Some Useful Tips for Implementing Children’s Wedding Ceremony Readings
Be sure to give your reader enough time to practise! Especially when it comes to children, the more time to practise, the better.
It could be a good idea to have a bridesmaid or parent walk up with the child when they do their reading. This can help to alleviate nerves and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Remember that children’s wedding ceremony readings don’t need to be done alone – it might make more sense to put shyer children together for instance. This can help to give a sense of camaraderie and to boost their confidence in front of an audience.
We’ve tried to include a range of simple and slightly more complex wedding ceremony readings for children below, but don’t forget to think about the age of the child when you’re choosing their reading. For younger children, the simpler and shorter the reading is, the better.
READ MORE: Our Favourite Non-Religious Wedding Ceremony Readings
1. 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.’
2. 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.
3. Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.
Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. ‘Pooh?’ he whispered.
‘Yes, Piglet?’
‘Nothing,’ said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. ‘I just wanted to be sure of you.’
‘We’ll be friends forever, won’t we, Pooh?’ asked Piglet.
‘Even longer,’ Pooh answered.
READ MORE: Just Engaged? Here’s What Comes Next
4. 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 charactered 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.
5. 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.
READ MORE: Children’s wedding ceremony readings from rock my wedding
6. 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 couple who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care. About some you will say, “We don’t choose to go there.” With your heads 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. OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
READ MORE: Your Ultimate Guide to an Unplugged Wedding Ceremony
That’s it for our favourite memorable children’s wedding ceremony readings. If you’d like to learn more about our Devon wedding venue, please do get in touch. If you’re after wedding planning inspiration, we’ve also got plenty of useful articles on the blog – click here for venue decoration ideas and specialist advice with one of our favourite luxury wedding florists, The Rose Shed. You’ll also find heaps of real wedding images and venue gallery photos on our Instagram – click here to see our page.