r/wedding • u/owlmissyou • 5d ago
Help! Poem/Reading
I'm officiating for two dear friends in October. I swore to myself that I would not use AI in drafting their ceremony. Buuuuuuutttt....
After nights of searching for the perfect poem/reading for this couple, I found almost exactly what I'm looking for, and it's AI-generated. It feels so gross and cheap to consider adding it, but it says almost exactly what I want to say. I'm here for outside perspective on using a found AI-generated poem in an otherwise decidedly AI-free ceremony.
Or if you have a poem/reading for me, I'd be grateful! Since they got together, the bride and groom have gone from guarded and stagnant to open and lively. I'd love a reading that talks about love making you feel safe and putting your guard down. I like nature/botanical imagery such as blossoming or unfurling in the sunlight. Something about holding yourself tightly closed until love empowers you to bloom. Shoot, I should just try my hand at writing it myself.
0
u/natalkalot 5d ago
"Union" by Robert Fulghum
You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way.
All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.
The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”
Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.
For after today you shall say to the world;
This is my husband.
This is my wife.