15 Romantic and Inspiring Love Poems for Your Wedding Ceremony

Traditional religious readings and speeches aren’t for everyone. Your wedding should be a reflection of your love story, not just a cookie-cutter ceremony. If you want to break away from the usual and add a personal, meaningful touch, you’re in good company.

A poetry reading is a beautiful way to weave emotion, artistry, and personality into your wedding. Whether it’s a timeless classic or a modern verse that speaks to your connection, the right poem can bring an extra layer of depth and romance to your ceremony.

But finding the perfect poem? That’s where we come in. We’ve rounded up 15 of our favourite wedding poems, covering everything from short and sweet to deeply romantic, modern, non-religious, and rhyming selections. And if you’re just after a simple yet powerful love quote, check out our collection of 110 inspiring love quotes to add a special touch to your big day.

What makes a good love poem?

A good love poem is anything that touches the hearts of you and your partner and reflects your personal love story. It can be long or short, rhyming or not rhyming, and even have a joke in there if you’d like! The most important thing is that it means something to you and your partner. 

Love poems are the perfect alternative to wedding vows, readings, or even speeches if you’re stuck for words. They’re also a great way to gain inspiration, structure your vows or speech, or simply make your wedding day more artistic and poetic.  

How can I incorporate poems about love in my speech or message?

There are a few ways you can incorporate poems about love into your wedding speech or message:

• Instead of a speech or vows. If the cat’s got your tongue or you’re feeling the wedding day nerves, using a love poem in place of your own vows or speech can be a great way to calm your nerves. Love poems are expertly written and many have stood the test of time, making them the perfect addition to your special day. 

• As inspiration.If a poem moves you but the wording doesn’t quite fit, use it as inspiration for your wedding vows or speech. You can take the essence of a line and make it your own. For example, instead of saying, “I will love you in a unique and tender way,” you might rephrase it as, “I truly believe there is no love as unique or tender as ours.”

• Use a few lines of the love poem. Try peppering your vows or speech with a few lines from your favourite poem. You could even quote your favourite part of the poem. For example, “Pablo Neruda says, ‘I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride’. That’s especially true of James and I. Our love isn’t over the top or fluffy — it’s safe and secure. Uncomplicated.” 

3 short wedding poems

​1. ​The Minute I Heard My First Love Story – Rumi

The minute I heard my first love story,

I started looking for you,

not knowing how blind that was.

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.

They’re in each other all along.

2. When Two People Are At One – I Ching 

When two people are at one in their inmost hearts,

they shatter even the strength of iron or bronze.

And when two people understand each other in their inmost hearts,

their words are sweet and strong,

like the fragrance of orchids.

3. In Your Light I Learn How To Love – Rumi

In your light I learn how to love.

In your beauty, how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest, where no one sees you,but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.

3 romantic wedding poems

1. Devoted – Lori Eberhai

My heart can be your home,

my soul can be your refuge.

You can turn to me when you are weak,

you can call to me when the way is not clear.

I will be your promise and your prayer,

I will always be there,

Constant and complete.

Run to me,

reach out for me,

and I will love you in a unique and tender way.

Bring your love to me,

share your love with me,

sing your love to me,

and I will offer you peace, ease and comfort.

2. Stardust – Lang Leav

If you came to me with a face I have not seen,

with a name I have never heard,

I would still know you. Even if centuries separated us,

I would still feel you. 

Somewhere between the sand and the stardust,

through every collapse and creation,

there is a pulse that echoes of you and I.

When we leave this world,

we give up all our possessions and our memories.

Love is the only thing we take with us.

It is all we carry from one life to the next.

3. I’ll Be There For You – Louise Cuddon

I’ll be there my darling, through thick and through thin

When your mind’s in a mess and your head’s in a spin

When your plane’s been delayed, and you’ve missed the last train.

When life is just threatening to drive you insane

When your thrilling whodunit has lost its last page

When somebody tells you, you’re looking your age

When your coffee’s too cool, and your wine is too warm

When the forecast said “Fine”, but you’re out in a storm

When your quick break hotel, turns into a slum

And your holiday photos show only your thumb

When you park for five minutes in a resident’s bay

And return to discover you’ve been towed away

When the jeans that you bought in hope or in haste

Just stick on your hips and don’t reach round your waist

When the food you most like brings you out in red rashes

When as soon as you boot up the bloody thing crashes

So my darling, my sweetheart, my dear…

When you break a rule, when you act the fool

When you’ve got the flu, when you’re in a stew

When you’re last in the queue, don’t feel blue, 

‘Cause I’m telling you, I’ll be there.

3 non-religious wedding poems

1. Time travellers – Terah Cox

May you take on the world together

with all your hopes and dreams,

May you be each other’s anchor

in smooth or rocky seas.

May you bend to the world’s winds

and brave stalls and storms,

May you find common ground

in all its changing forms.

May you cross stubborn boundaries

and turn many a stone,

May you find haven for your souls,

may you have heart and home.

And if some nights are grey,

and some nights are long and cold,

May you be each other’s sun and moon

as your destinies unfold.

And should you lose sight of each other

and start to drift apart,

May you circle back by following the compass of your hearts.

2. Marriage Advice – Jane Wells

Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger.

Learn the wisdom of compromise,

For it is better to bend a little than to break.

Believe the best rather than the worst.

People have a way of living up or down to your opinion of them.

Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship.

The person you choose to marry

is deserving of the courtesies and kindness you bestow on your friends.

Please hand this down to your children and your children’s children.

3. To Love Is Not To Possess – James Kavanaugh

To love is not to possess,

To own or imprison,

Nor to lose one’s self in another.

Love is to join and separate,

To walk alone and together,

To find a laughing freedom

That lonely isolation does not permit.

It is finally to be able

To be who we really are

No longer clinging in childish dependency

Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,

It is to be perfectly one’s self

And perfectly joined in permanent commitment

To another — and to one’s inner self.

Love only endures when it moves like waves,

Receding and returning gently or passionately,

Or moving lovingly like the tideIn the moon’s own predictable harmony,

Because finally, despite a child’s scars

Or an adult’s deepest wounds,

They are openly free to be

Who they really are — and always secretly were,In the very core of their being

Where true and lasting love can alone abide.

3 modern wedding poems 

1. Sonnet XVII ― Pablo Neruda

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way than this:

where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. 

2. Wedding Vow Haiku – Tracy Davidson

I promise to love

and will gladly honour you

but obey? no way!

3. Variations On The Word Love – Margaret Atwood

This is a word we use to plug

holes with. It’s the right size for those warm

blanks in speech, for those red heart-

shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing

like real hearts. Add lace

and you can sell

it. We insert it also in the one empty

space on the printed form

that comes with no instructions. There are whole

magazines with not much in them

but the word love, you can

rub it all over your body and you

can cook with it too. How do we know

it isn’t what goes on at the cool

debaucheries of slugs under damp

pieces of cardboard? As for the weed-

seedlings nosing their tough snouts up

among the lettuces, they shout it.

Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising

their glittering knives in salute.

Then there’s the two

of us. This word

is far too short for us, it has only

four letters, too sparse

to fill those deep bare

vacuums between the stars

that press on us with their deafness.

It’s not love we don’t wish

to fall into, but that fear.

This word is not enough but it will

have to do. It’s a single

vowel in this metallic

silence, a mouth that says

O again and again in wonder

and pain, a breath, a finger

grip on a cliffside. You can

hold on or let go.

3 rhyming wedding poems

1. These I Can Promise – Mark Twain 

I cannot promise you a life of sunshine;

I cannot promise riches, wealth, or gold;

I cannot promise you an easy pathway

That leads away from change or growing old.

But I can promise all my heart’s devotion;

A smile to chase away your tears of sorrow;

A love that’s ever true and ever growing;

A hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow.

2. What’s Mickey Without Minnie? Author unknown 

What’s Mickey without Minnie,

Or Piglet without Pooh,

What’s Donald without Daisy?

That’s me without you.

When Ariel doesn’t sing,

and Pooh hates honey,

when Tigger stops bouncing,

and Goofy isn’t funny.

When Peter Pan can’t fly, 

and Simba never roars, 

when Alice no longer fits through small doors.

When Dumbo’s ears are small, and happily ever after isn’t true,

Even then, I won’t stop loving you.

3. Be My Homer – CJ Munn

Be my Homer

I wanna be your Marge.

If I’m your Norfolk Broads

Will you be my barge?

Let’s please be Tom and Barbara,

I will show you The Good Life.

Even though we’re not yet married

I would love to be your wife.

I’ve the passion Lily Munster

has for her dear Herman.

I would love you if you were ginger,

I would love you if you were German.

Like Mr and Mrs Huxtable,

We’d smooch even when we’re wrinkly.

I’ll even consider ironing your shirts,

But I hope you like them crinkly.Like Mr and Mrs Incredible

I’m flexible and you’re tough.

But if you promise to be my true love

That will always be enough.

Like Bonny and that Clyde guy

without all the dying.

Like Gwyneth and that Coldplay man

without all the crying.

My partner in crime, the love of my life.

Plan your dream wedding with Bridebook

If you’re looking for a way to make your wedding speech more engaging, love poetry is a perfect choice. A well-chosen poem can replace a traditional speech, enhance your vows, or serve as a heartfelt reading. You can also draw inspiration from poetry to craft your own words or quote a verse directly for a meaningful touch. When it comes to wedding poetry, there are no rules—just endless possibilities.

You can choose a poem that’s long or short, romantic or lighthearted, religious or secular. Whether you want something that reflects your shared sense of humour, tugs at the heartstrings, or celebrates your unique love story, there’s a poem out there that will feel just right. The key is finding one that truly resonates with you as a couple.

No matter what kind of wedding you’re planning, there’s a wedding poem that will fit perfectly. If you’re looking for ways to incorporate poetry into your speech or vows, check out our posts on wedding speech examples and how to start and end a wedding speech for tips on making your words unforgettable.

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Happy Planning!