Had The Owl and The Pussycat

... on Radio 4 last week. Wish I remembered it before my own wedding

I Wanna Be Yours
by John Cooper Clark

let me be your vacuum cleaner
breathing in your dust
let me be your ford cortina
i will never rust
if you like your coffee hot
let me be your coffee pot
you call the shots
i wanna be yours

let me be your raincoat
for those frequent rainy days
let me be your dreamboat
when you wanna sail away
let me be your teddy bear
take me with you anywhere
i dont care
i wanna be yours

let me be your electric meter
i will not run out
let me be the electric heater
you get cold without
let me be your setting lotion
hold your hair with deep devotion
deep as the deep atlantic ocean
thats how deep is my emotion
deep deep deep deep deep deep
i dont wanna be hers
i wanna be yours

However we went for good old William Butler Yeats

He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven by William Butler Yeats

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

It's not original, but it is lovely (and brief)

Given the setting and the occasion perhaps this might appeal. Short but sweet.

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

In a similar childish vein to A Lovely Love Story, can I recommend Us Two by A A Milne? Not exactly a love poem, but certainly one about togetherness and something a little bit different. We had it at ours, and it seemed to work well.

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
"Where are you going today?" says Pooh:
"Well, that's very odd 'cos I was too.
Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.
"Let's go together," says Pooh.

"What's twice eleven?" I said to Pooh.
("Twice what?" said Pooh to Me.)
"I think it ought to be twenty-two."
"Just what I think myself," said Pooh.
"It wasn't an easy sum to do,
But that's what it is," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what it is," said Pooh.

"Let's look for dragons," I said to Pooh.
"Yes, let's," said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few-
"Yes, those are dragons all right," said Pooh.
"As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That's what they are," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what they are," said Pooh.

"Let's frighten the dragons," I said to Pooh.
"That's right," said Pooh to Me.
"I'm not afraid," I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted "Shoo!
Silly old dragons!"- and off they flew.

"I wasn't afraid," said Pooh, said he,
"I'm never afraid with you."

So wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
"What would I do?" I said to Pooh,
"If it wasn't for you," and Pooh said: "True,
It isn't much fun for One, but Two,
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. "That's how it is," says Pooh.

by Hovis Presley.

Shaky. Sonnet 116.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
   If this be error and upon me proved,
   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Excuse me, I have something in my eye...

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=170

ONS stats about the divorce rate in England & Wales being at its lowest since 1977. Its *lowest*. Good news :-)

I read this at my brother’s wedding, after he asked me to find something. Simple, touching and not yet hackneyed:

Stay near to me and I’ll stay near to you -
As near as you are dear to me will do,
Near as the rainbow to the rain,
The west wind to the windowpane,
As fire to the hearth, as dawn to dew.

Stay true to me and I’ll stay true to you -
As true as you are new to me will do,
New as the rainbow in the spray,
Utterly new in every way,
New in the way that what you say is true.

Stay near to me, stay true to me. I’ll stay
As near, as true to you as heart could pray.
Heart never hoped that one might be
Half of the things you are to me -
The dawn, the fire, the rainbow and the day.

But on the balance of probabilities (having noticed the mention of being a bridesmaid and the first part of your username), let me present you with a honorary badge:

Look! We Have Come Through! by D. H. Lawrence

The little river twittering in the twilight
The wan, wandering look of the pale sky,
This is almost bliss.
And everything shut up and gone to sleep,
All the troubles and anxieties and pain,
Gone under the twilight.
Only the twilight now, and the soft 'Sh!'of the river
That will last forever.
And at last I know my love for you is here;
I can see it all, it is whole like the twilight,
It is large, so large, I could not see it before,
Because of the little lights and flickers and interruptions,
Troubles, anxieties and pains.
You are the call and I am the answer,
You are the wish and I am the fulfillment,
You are the night and I the day.
What else? It is perfect enough,
it is perfectly complete,
You and I,
What more-?
Strange how we suffer in spite of this.

but does anyone really listen or care about a reading at either a wedding or a funeral ? There's something terribly insincere about them.

I know they are what you ought to do but then I can't remember one occasion ( not many weddings tbh ) where a reading ( borrowed words ) have hit the spot.

Unless it is insisted on I would opt for personal feelings and thoughts everytime, it will land better, be heartfelt and will be remembered.

Mind you it depends what you say I suppose ...

In lieu of a reading, why not just bang out The Ronettes' "Baby I Love You". It says what any fancy poetry or prose might with a good deal more precision, economy and emotional clout. It's what pop music was invented for. Love, as the song goes, "isn't easy to explain".
Or you could just read out the lyrics.
Best wishes to you and the happy couple.

It's such a lovely song and would be great at weddings if only didn't start with 'I may not always love you'.

You don't want to hear that on your wedding day, do you? You want to know you'll always be loved.

Anyhoo, we had a poem called Trust, but I forget who it's by. Oddly, I recently had to read it a friend's funeral quite recently. It's obviously one size fits all with that bit of verse.

On Marriage, from The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

When Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of Marriage, master?"

And he answered saying:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

It may be a little too intense and private a sentiment for a reading and frankly, in my view the third and fourth stanzas are a little 6th Formish - but the last stanza and, particularly, the last line of old lower case's "somewhere I have never travelled, gladly beyond" is a perfect, still, evocation of love. Also it worked the trick with Emily Kester - although I wasn't trying to take her up the aisle. Well, perhaps in one sense I wa.. "Er, yes thank you Sheev - will you please keep your smutty asides to yourself" Smutty asides? You bet she di.."Sheev!"

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

Learn from the Master

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!

I'd go with spoken lyrics - maybe as obvious as Madness - It Must be Love ? - or this one which was actually posted on a thread about the first dances at weddings. I'd never heard the track before but it's become a firm favourite of mine:-

True Love Travels on a Gravel Road - Percy Sledge

How many girls choose cotton dress worlds,
When they could have satins and lace?
Stand by her man through good times and bad,
An' still keep a smile on her face?
And how many hearts could face the winters we've known,
And still not turn cold.

True love travels on a gravel road.
Love is a stranger and hearts are in danger.
On smooth streets paved with gold.
True love travels on a gravel road.

Down through the years,
We've had hard times and tears.
But it only makes our love grow.
And we'll stay together no matter how hard the wind blows.
Not once have I've seen your blue eyes fill with envy,
Or stray from the warmth that they hold.

True love travels on a gravel road.
Now love is a stranger and hearts fill with danger,
On smooth streets paved with gold.
True love travels on a gravel road.

Read with depth, and gravitas, and meaning.

My friend, Billy.
Had a ten-foot wiily
And he showed it
To the lady
Next door.

She though it was a snake
So she hit it
With
A rake
And now
It's only three foot four.

You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do.

We chose one each at our wedding.

Mine: The Sun Rising by John Donne

BUSY old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us ?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run ?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late school-boys and sour prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices ;
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Thy beams so reverend, and strong
Why shouldst thou think ?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long.
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
Look, and to-morrow late tell me,
Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou left'st them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear, "All here in one bed lay."

She's all states, and all princes I ;
Nothing else is ;
Princes do but play us ; compared to this,
All honour's mimic, all wealth alchemy.
Thou, Sun, art half as happy as we,
In that the world's contracted thus ;
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere ;
This bed thy center is, these walls thy sphere.

Mrs Umpire's: Her Song by Brian Pattern

For no other reason than I love him wholly
I am here; for this one night at least
The world has shrunk to a boyish breast
On which my head, brilliant and exhausted, rests,
And can know of nothing more complete.

Let the dawn assemble all its guilts, its worries
And small doubts that, but for love, would infect
This perfect heart.
I am as far beyond doubt as the sun.
I am as far beyond doubt as is possible.

Thank you all, I knew you were the people to ask. I've shown these to the bride, she says thank you also.

And Mr Law - I've known the groom since we were twelve, I'm sure he would go for your suggestion if he could.

Welcome, Sarah. I did a reading for my brother's (second) wedding a few years ago. Bride & groom had both lived a lot and were in their late 40s. Listening To The Koln Concert by Robert Bly was my choice:

" After we had loved each other intently,
we heard notes tumble together,
in late winter, and we heard ice
falling from the ends of twigs.

The notes abandon so much as they move.
They are the food not eaten, the comfort
not taken, the lies not spoken.
The music is my attention to you.

And when the music came again,
late in the day, I saw tears in your eyes.
I saw you turn your face away
So that others would not see.

When men and women come together,
how much they have to abandon. Wrens
make their nests of fancy threads
and string ends, animals

abandon all their money each year.
What is it that men and women leave?
Harder than wren's doing, they have
to abandon their longing for the perfect.

The inner nest not made by instinct
will never be quite round,
and each has to enter the nest
made by the other imperfect bird. "

And if that seems a little downbeat, how about this utterly delightful ditty, which will be enjoyed by the francophone section of the gathering. It looks very long, although the breakneck speed at which its composer sings it brings it in at about three minutes. Or maybe you could use an extract. I'll tell you who it's by at the end.

"Le toi du moi"

Je suis ton pile
Tu es mon face
Toi mon nombril
Et moi ta glace
Tu es l'envie et moi le geste
Toi le citron et moi le zeste
Je suis le thé, tu es la tasse
Toi la guitare et moi la basse

Je suis la pluie et tu es mes gouttes
Tu es le oui et moi le doute
T'es le bouquet je suis les fleurs
Tu es l'aorte et moi le coeur
Toi t'es l'instant moi le bonheur
Tu es le verre je suis le vin
Toi tu es l'herbe et moi le joint
Tu es le vent j'suis la rafale
Toi la raquette et moi la balle
T'es le jouet et moi l'enfant
T'es le vieillard et moi le temps
Je suis l'iris tu es la pupille
Je suis l'épice toi la papille
Toi l'eau qui vient et moi la bouche
Toi l'aube et moi le ciel qui s'couche
T'es le vicaire et moi l'ivresse
T'es le mensonge moi la paresse
T'es le guépard moi la vitesse
Tu es la main moi la caresse
Je suis l'enfer de ta pécheresse
Tu es le Ciel moi la Terre, hum
Je suis l'oreille de ta musique
Je suis le soleil de tes tropiques
Je suis le tabac de ta pipe
T'es le plaisir je suis la foudre
Tu es la gamme et moi la note
Tu es la flamme moi l'allumette
T'es la chaleur j'suis la paresse
T'es la torpeur et moi la sieste
T'es la fraîcheur et moi l'averse
Tu es les fesses je suis la chaise
Tu es bémol et moi j'suis dièse

T'es le Laurel de mon Hardy
T'es le plaisir de mon soupir
T'es la moustache de mon Trotski
T'es tous les éclats de mon rire
Tu es le chant de ma sirène
Tu es le sang et moi la veine
T'es le jamais de mon toujours
T'es mon amour t'es mon amour

Je suis ton pile
Toi mon face
Toi mon nombril
Et moi ta glace
Tu es l'envie et moi le geste
T'es le citron et moi le zeste
Je suis le thé, tu es la tasse
Toi la putain et moi la passe
Tu es la tombée moi l'épitaphe
Et toi le texte, moi le paragraphe
Tu es le lapsus et moi la gaffe
Toi l'élégance et moi la grâce
Tu es l'effet et moi la cause
Toi le divan moi la névrose
Toi l'épine moi la rose
Tu es la tristesse moi le poète
Tu es la Belle et moi la Bête
Tu es le corps et moi la tête
Tu es le corps. Hummm !
T'es le sérieux moi l'insouciance
Toi le flic moi la balance
Toi le gibier moi la potence
Toi l'ennui et moi la transe
Toi le très peu moi le beaucoup
Moi le sage et toi le fou
Tu es l'éclair et moi la poudre
Toi la paille et moi la poutre
Tu es le surmoi de mon ça
C'est toi qu'arrives des mois si ?
Tu es la mère et moi le doute
Tu es le néant et moi le tout
Tu es le chant de ma sirène
Toi tu es le sang et moi la veine
T'es le jamais de mon toujours
T'es mon amour t'es mon amour

It's Carla Bruni!

We had How long will I love you by the Waterboys and My Luve is like a red red rose sung at the signing of the registers

I read that at my brother's wedding last year, went down very well.

Roger McGough
Vow

I vow to honour the commitment made this day
Which, unlike the flowers and the cake,
Will not wither or decay. A promise, not to obey
But to respond joyfully, to forgive and to console,
For once incomplete, we now are whole.

I vow to bear in mind that if, at times
Things seem to go from bad to worse,
They also go from bad to better.
The lost purse is handed in, the letter
Contains wonderful news. Trains run on time,
Hurricanes run out of breath, floods subside,
And toast lands jam-side up.

And with this ring, my final vow:
To recall, whatever the future may bring,
The love I feel for you now.

I can't be doing with a lot of soppy stuff and so many of the 'suggested wedding reading' made me choke. So, my love of the Liverpool poets made me look there for inspiration and we had Roger McGough's 'Valentine Poem' (which I can't find to paste in) and Adrian Henri's 'Galactic Love Poem' (nice and short for any nervous readers !)

GALACTIC LOVE POEM

Warm your feet at the sunset
Before we go to bed
Read your book by the light of Orion
With Sirius guarding your head
Then reach out and switch off the planets
We'll watch them go out one by one
You kiss me and tell me you love me
By the light of the last setting sun
We'll both be up early tomorrow
A new universe has begun.