A List of Song Lyrics for Wedding Readings

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You want the readings during your ceremony to be heartfelt and unique, but coming up with your own vows may leave you sounding a little cheesy. When it comes to finding the perfect words, why not take inspiration from some true modern poets? Using song lyrics for wedding readings can offer you the perfect way to say what you feel without sounding too sappy.

Some Song Lyrics for Wedding Readings You Will Love

Besides the sweet lyrics, these songs are also great choices to include on your wedding playlist, whether it’s for the first dance, procession, or the cake cutting.

Marry You, Bruno Mars

Everyone will most likely recognize the lyrics to this one. It has the perfect words to incorporate a little bit of fun and humor into your reading.

It's a beautiful night ,
We're looking for something dumb to do
Hey baby
I think I want to marry you

Is it the look in your eyes?
Or is it these dancing juice?
Who cares baby
I think I wanna marry you

You and I, Ingrid Michaelson

You can gain a lot of inspiration from these simple lyrics. The last verse offers a number of lines that you can re-work into your own words to describe how the two of you are putting your lonely lives on the shelf.

Don't you worry there, my honey
We might not have any money
But we've got our love to pay the bills
Maybe I think you're cute and funny
Maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you, if you know what I mean
Oh, let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France
Let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance
Let's get rich and build a house on a mountain making everybody look like ants
From way up there, you and I, you and I
Well, you might be a bit confused
And you might be a little bit bruised
But baby how we spoon like no one else
So I will help you read those books
If you will soothe my worried looks
And we will put the lonesome on the shelf

Fool for You, John Butler Trio

These lyrics are sweet and romantic and are the perfect complement to your feelings on your wedding day. What a sweet way to say "thank you" to your soon-to-be spouse and commit to standing next to them.

So I stepped up to the plate to a place I thought I'd never be
So I'm thanking you today because of you I am now me
Cold days them dark and blue when ran was our only friend
For all that we've been through and will go through again
For that I say,
I will come and I will stand
and I will live my life beside you
I'm a proud, a proud man, but all the same I'm
I'm just a fool, I'm a fool for you
I'm a fool, I'm a fool for you

Tangled Up in you, Staind

“You’re the words when I have nothing else to say” is the perfect phrase to let your significant other know just how much they make you better. This song romantically describes just what relationships are supposed to be like.

You're my world
The shelter from the rain
You're the pills
That take away my pain
You're the light
That helps me find my way
You're the words
When I have nothing to say

And in this world
Where nothing else is true
Here I am
Still tangled up in you
I'm still tangled up in you
Still tangled up in you

The Luckiest, Ben Folds

What else is there to say? The luckiest is the best way to describe exactly how you feel and is probably the same way your significant other feels as well.

What if I had been born fifty years before you

In a house on the street

Where you lived

Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike. Would I know?

And in a wide sea of eyes

I see one pair that I recognize

And I know

That I am, I am, I am, the luckiest

Anniversary Song, Cowboy Junkies

If you are looking for something simple and sweet to include in your vows or ceremony reading, then you can choose a number of the lines from this song. Let your soon-to-be know just how much they changed your life for the better when you first held their hand.

Have you ever had the pleasure of watchin'
A quiet winter's snow slowly gatherin'
Like simple moments addin' up?

Have you ever satisfied a gut feelin'
To follow a dry dirt road that's beckonin' you
To the heart of a shimmerin' summer's day?

Well, I have known all these things
And the joys that they can bring
And I'll share them all for a cup of coffee
And to wear your ring

And I don't know how I survived those days
Before I held your hand
Well, I never thought that I would be the one
To admit that the moon and the sun shine
So much more brighter when
Seen through two pair of eyes than
When seen through just one

Starlings, Elbow

"Is this love?" It’s one question you won’t be asking on your wedding day but is one of the greatest song lyrics for wedding readings because it can lead into all the ways you know you’ve found your one.

Sit with me a while
And let me listen to you talk about
Your dreams and your obsessions
I'll be quiet and confessional

The violets explode inside me
When I meet your eyes
Then I'm spinning and I'm diving
Like a cloud of starlings
Darling, is this love?

You Are the Best Thing, Ray Lamontagne

Almost all couples can relate to these lyrics. "You are the best thing" is a common line that is used in wedding vows because it is such a truthful reflection of how couples feel on their wedding day.

Baby, it's been a long day, baby

Things ain't been going my way

You know I need you here

To clear my mind

All the time

And baby, the way you move me it's crazy

It's like you see right through me

And make it easier

You please me you don't even have to try

Oh because, you are the best thing

You are the best thing

You are the best thing

Ever happened to me

Iris, Goo Goo Dolls

The lyrics to this song are simply beautiful and, while the song itself is sure to pull on some people’s heartstrings, reading the lines during your ceremony is also sure to bring a few tears of joy to everyone’s eyes.

And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't wanna go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
When sooner or later it's over
I just don't wanna miss you tonight

Everlong, Foo Fighters

You’ll be feeling on top of the world on your wedding day and you’ll probably be wondering if things will ever feel as good as the moment you say "I do". These lyrics are the perfect tribute to those feelings.

And I wonder
When I sing along with you
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You've got to promise not to stop when I say when
She sang

Love Should, Moby

It can be hard to summarize just how you feel when you're brimming with love but these lyrics do just that for you. You want your vows to let your significant other know that how you feel for them is unlike what you have ever felt before. You can use some of these lines to help you out with the right wording for this sentiment.

I know how it rains

I know how it pours

I never could feel this way

For anyone but you

I know how it rains

I know how it pours

I never could feel this way

For anyone but you

Real Love, John Lennon

Many couples have an “ah-ha” moment when they meet their future spouse and the line “seems like all I really was doing, was waiting for you” is the perfect way to say this.

Thought I'd been in love before,
But in my heart I wanted more
Seems like all I really was doing
Was waiting for you
Don't need to be alone
No need to be alone
It's real love
Yes it's real, yes it's real love
It's real, yes it's real love...

Better Together, Jack Johnson

This song offers sentimental lyrics that can be reworked to fit into a more traditional ceremony. It not only captures the happy times, but also refers to the most difficult times, when having the one you love next to you makes everything better.

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams,
And they are made out of real things
Like a shoebox of photographs
With sepia-toned loving

Love is the answer.
At least for most of the questions in my heart.
Like: "Why are we here?", "And where do we go?",
"And how come it's so hard?".
It's not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing:
It's always better when we're together

Strange and Beautiful, Aqualung

When looking for song lyrics for wedding readings, Aqualung’s lyrics are moving and perfectly describe those first love, smitten feelings you feel for someone. It’s a beautiful song if your love for your spouse-to-be was hidden at first.

I've been watching your world from afar
I've been trying to be where you are
And I've been secretly falling apart
Unseen
To me, you're strange and you're beautiful
You'd be so perfect with me
But you just can't see
You turn every head but you don't see me

I'll put a spell on you
You'll fall asleep
When I put a spell on you
And when I wake you I'll be the first thing you see
And you'll realize that you love me

Rock N Roll Queen, The Subways

Who doesn’t like a little Rock N Roll? These lyrics are the perfect addition to your ceremony readings for couples who simply love Rock N Roll.

You are the sun
You are the only one
My heart is blue
My heart is blue for you
Be my, be my, be my little rock and roll queen
Be my, be my, be my little rock and roll queen

You are the sun
You are the only one
You are so cool
You are so rock and roll

I Believe in a Thing Called Love, The Darkness

Most people don’t pay attention to the lyrics of this song since it has such a catchy beat, but they are perfect for including into your wedding vows! You might want to leave out the touching parts, but the rest can come off quite beautifully.

Can't explain all the feelings that you're making me feel
My heart's in overdrive and you're behind the steering wheel

Touching you, touching me
Touching you God you're touching me

I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
There's a chance we could make it now
We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down
I believe in a thing called love
Ooh!

I want to kiss you every minute, every hour, every day
You got me in a spin but everything is A.O.K!

The Reason, Hoobastank

Relationships are supposed to make you better and these lyrics capture this and more. Let your significant other know they are the reason you have become a better person and how you want to continue to grow with them.

I'm not a perfect person
There's many thing I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you

Lovesong, The Cure

Take out all the “whenever I’m alone with you” lines and string together the rest into one beautiful poem for a unique and sweet reading for your ceremony. You’ll let your significant other know just how they make you feel.

Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am home again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am whole again

Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am young again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am fun again

Nothing Else Matters, Metallica

Metallica isn’t the first band that comes to mind when thinking of romance and love, but these lyrics are just too good to ignore. It’s a beautiful song that can perfectly sum up your feelings and describe your relationship in all the right ways.

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

I Could Not Ask for More, Edwin McCain

“I’ve found all I’ve waited for, and I could not ask for more” are the perfect song lyrics to end your vows with. These lyrics are incredibly versatile and able to fit in with any type of ceremony, even highly traditional ones.

Lying here with you
Listening to the rain
Smiling just to see the smile upon your face
These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive
These are the moments I'll remember all my life
I found all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more
Looking in your eyes
Seeing all I need
Everything you are is everything to me
These are the moments
I know heaven must exist
These are the moments I know all I need is this
I have all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more

Here Is a House, Depeche Mode

These song lyrics can give you a number of great ideas for writing your own vows. For example, recalling the first time you knew the person standing next to you was the one, or reflecting on how you can’t wait to start making lifelong memories in your own home.

Here is the house
Where it all happened
Those tender moments
Under this roof
Body and soul come together
As we come closer together
And as it happens
It happens here
In this house

And I feel your warmth
And it feels like home
And there's someone
Calling on the telephone
Let's stay home
It's cold outside
And I have so much
To confide to you

With or without words
I'll confide everything

You’ll Be in My Heart, Phil Collins

Whether you want to use these song lyrics for wedding readings or to dedicate a special moment to your parents, “You’ll be in my heart” can refer to any number of people you want to give thanks to on your big day!

Come stop your crying, it will be alright
Just take my hand, hold it tight

I will protect you, from all around you
I will be here, don't you cry

For one so small, you seem so strong
My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm
This bond between us can't be broken
I will be here, don't you cry