Readings Mini Series - Ceremony Blessing

Disclaimer - Audio issues!  Maternity leave means I am working to get these out while pumping leading to some fun audio issues as I try to master editing.  Thank you for your understanding. 

Finding a wedding reading that feels heartfelt without being religious or overly themed can be harder than picking the venue. We’re on maternity leave and sharing a short mini-series of nonreligious wedding readings you can drop right into your ceremony, especially if you want something that lands in three to five minutes and actually sounds like you.

This week, I share a favorite reading I inherited early in my officiating career, often titled “Minister Blessing.” I explain where I usually place it in the ceremony script (between the vows and the rings) and why that timing matters. It gives you a pause to breathe, lets your guests reflect, and keeps the ceremony moving with intention. The reading is packed with grounded marriage advice: hold hands, say “I love you,” don’t go to bed angry, show gratitude, forgive, build a united front, and remember that the biggest things are often the little things.

The best part is how customizable it is. I walk through simple ways to tailor the lines to fit your life, whether you have pets, kids, or a blended family, whether you’re planning an elopement, or whether family dynamics mean certain phrases should be skipped. If you want a light sprinkle of fandom, I share how I’ve woven in Disney, Marvel, Outlander, and sitcom references without taking over the tone of the ceremony.

Subscribe for more wedding readings and ceremony ideas, and if this helped, share the episode and leave a review so more couples can find it. What line would you personalize first?

Transcript

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Welcome And Mini-Series Setup\n

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the wedding wear with officiating by Manda. If you're tuning in, you are getting a special treat. We are on maternity leave, woot woot, which means that we're going to be doing another mini series. Our previous mini-series was about vows and different types of vow options. And this mini-series is focused on some readings, um, non-religious readings that can be inserted very easily into your wedding. I often have a lot of couples who get stuck with trying to figure out what sort of reading to do that wouldn't involve a Bible passage, um, maybe isn't super themed to being Disney or Harry Potter, but just something that takes a little bit of time in the ceremony, between three and five minutes, gives some time for reflection, um, really engages to the audience or relates and speaks to the couple. So, with all of that in mind, I hope that you enjoy the readings mini-series this fall.

Why Couples Need Secular Readings\n

SPEAKER_00 1:15

This reading is one I inherited very early on in my officiating career. It was titled Minister Blessing. I've seen a version of it in a few different um officiating books, but it's one that I really like to take and play with because each of the lines could be modified so significantly to speak to the couple. So let's dive in. I typically structure this in between the vows and the rings. So giving the couple you know some breathing time to be like, oh my gosh, what did we just do? And like I said, it's very flexible. It can be made a lot longer, it can be made shorter. And oftentimes, if I have couples who want a little theming, a sprinkling of a theme, if you will, I will work it within to this reading here. Minister blessing. I want to give you some words of advice as you start off as husband and wife. Always remembering that a good marriage doesn't just happen. It has to be created and cultivated because in marriage the biggest things are actually the little things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say I love you at least once a day.

Where The Reading Fits Ceremony\n

SPEAKER_00 2:45

It is never going to bed angry. It is standing together and facing the world united against all which may come your way. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful and simple ways. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is sharing a space in your heart and in your home with not only each other, but with all of your family and friends. It's acknowledging that life together, with any good or bad, high or low, is a million times better than life could ever be apart. It is at times fighting the fights that need to be fought, for there are arguments that will make your relationship stronger and then forge past all the rest. Is knowing the joy of sharing a drink after a long day and spending quality time together, even if it feels like you're doing nothing at all, by doing it together, you're doing far more than you know. It is having the ability to remember the best moments and to find the best in each other. It is giving one another an atmosphere in which each can grow individually, jointly, and as a family. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. And finally, it is not only marrying the right person in as much as it is being the right partner. And when I modify this, I will often add in lines about uh if they've got pets, it's knowing when to go for a walk and when to

How To Customize For Your Life\n

SPEAKER_00 4:29

stay home. Um, if they've got kids adding in a few more lines about family or how this relationship is going to be bringing together that family. It's a very flexible reading to add in quotes from all different fandoms, and I have done it for Disney and for Marvel, for Outlander, for different um sitcoms, and it just adds a nice little sprinkling without being too too crazy to get into. So this is one of the most common readings that I get. And at times, if I know a little bit more about a couple, like I know that they maybe don't plan to have a family or kids, some of these lines get scrapped of you know, it's giving one another an atmosphere for growth as a family. We can scrap that, like they're growing together and individually. If I know that there have been some uh obstacles within their family or their friend group, and maybe they're just doing a private elopement, just the two of them, I will scrap the line of like it's sharing the space in your heart and in your home with not only each other, but with your family and friends, because I don't need to delve into that situation too much. You really want the readings on your wedding day to be reflective of who you are and what you're hoping to achieve and kind of get through in your time together.

Subscribe And How To Reach Me\n

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Thank you so much for listening to this mini-series on wedding readings. Stay tuned for even more. Thank you for listening to The Wedding Wear with Officiating by Amanda. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and found some inspiration or insight for your own special day. This podcast is hosted on Busfroute and can be found on all major platforms. If you haven't already, please subscribe, like, comment, and share to help us reach even more listeners who might laugh a little at the wedding wear. For the links referenced in the show, visit Linktree at officiating by Amanda. You can also follow the business on Facebook, Weddingwire, and the knot to stay up to date on everything going on. If you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast, just send an email to theweddingwear podcast at gmail.com. And if you're ready to inquire about officiating services for your own big day, you can reach me at officiatingbyamanda at gmail.com. Thank you so much for tuning in, and until next time, this has been Amanda.