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Cathleen and Matt were married at the spectacular Highlawn Pavilion in West Orange, NJ in late September.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. Their ceremony was sweet, funny, and meaningful, and included this reading, from Plato’s Symposium (a great non-religious reading!):
{Images by Snapshots by Clare}
Even though it is tradition for the Best Man to give the toast, I like the idea of the Maid of Honor speaking as well {provided she wants to}. The Best Man for our wedding is one of Rich’s oldest friends from high school and my maid of honor is my sister, Jess. Deb, Rich’s sister, is essentially the “Best Woman” so we hope all three will want to give a toast at our wedding. My sister and her husband, Jay, had two best men and I was the maid of honor. Each of us spoke before dinner. I read the poem, Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog, by Taylor Mali at their wedding. I kept my introduction brief and on the silly side {I am not one for sap}. We are a family of dog-lovers, having three different golden retrievers growing up. My sister now has two dogs, and my parents and I each have one. I found this poem and knew it was perfect.
Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog, by Taylor Mali
Layla and Lewis were married earlier this year at the Valley Brook Golf Club in River Vale, NJ. I had so much fun getting to know them and learning their story. They also introduced me to a great Greek restaurant – After Athens in Rutherford – two blocks from my apartment that I hadn’t been to – they have the most fabulous chai!
Back in March, on Pi Day, at the Maryland Science Center, in the Planetarium (
!), my friends Marisa and Patrick officially tied the knot.
Their wedding was so them! From their groomsdog, Einstein (who even stayed for the reception and danced the night away!), to the Periodic Table of Seating, the hand-folded origami flower centerpieces and bouquets, to the mini-beakers filled with LED tea lights used as escort cards and ambiance. And that’s just off the top of my head!
Periodic Table of Seating Chart
I’ve noticed in my Google stats that I get an awful lot of hits for “Eclectic Wedding Readings” - so I thought I should try to help those Google-ing brides out by sharing some of my favorite places to find awesome readings for your wedding. You can always check out my post on incorporating readings into your ceremony, as well, if you’re not sure where to stick that fabulous reading you have to have into your ceremony!
My go-to wedding reading depositories are this Offbeat Bride post and this thread on Indie Bride. They both take a little bit of digging, but it’s worth the effort. For some more “traditional” ideas check out Wedding Yellow Pages or Today’s Weddings.
Also, look to your favorite books - maybe a book you’ve both enjoyed or a poet or artist that you admire. And don’t think that the readings all have to be about love! Look for other wedding themes such as commitment, togetherness or anything else that really represents what you want your wedding to reflect.
As you browse the internet, combing through pages and pages of readings, here’s a suggestion - start a Google Notebook to collect your “clippings.” Kind of like an easily maintained internet scrapbook, you can copy and post love quotes, poetry and readings you are considering into it, as well as links (for when you find a good site of readings you may want to share). I have a Google Notebook I use to collect wedding readings and quotes that I may want to use at a later point. I also like that you can make the notebook public to share with anyone you’d like.
So, “Eclectic Wedding Reading” searchers, I hope this helps you out. Best of luck on your wedding journey!
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