# I need something sentimental but not too sappy to read at a wedding. Suggestions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128 "2008-09-05T04:16:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/1 "2008-09-05T04:16:34Z")
I’m reading at a friend of mine’s wedding next month. I may or may not be reading in tandem with a female friend, we haven’t decided. The bride, a longtime friend, is not religious (though not rabidly anti-religious) and while very much a girly girl in some ways is not at all fru-fru (huge sports fan, very much a “guy’s gal”) so she doesn’t want anything really super sweet or super religious, but at the same time something traditional. I’ve run several things by her from Browning and a couple of Shakespearean sonnets, even a few passages from Twain’s _Diaries of Adam & Eve_ (which I liked a lot but she didn’t like as well). To be frank I’ve never really been what you’d call a particularly romantic person or even, just to be embarrassingly blunt, a particular fan of poetry. Can anyone recommend something you’ve heard or think would sound good at a wedding that’s about joining/commitment/love/the usual suspects, but at the same time isn’t terribly syrupy or cliche? (Bible passages are fine so long as they aren’t too… Jesus-ey;), if you know what I mean.) ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/2 "2008-09-05T04:19:53Z")
From _Meet Joe Black_: > [@](#): > > Love is passion, obsession, someone you can’t live without. If you don’t start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who’ll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I’m not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you’ll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven’t lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven’t tried, you haven’t lived. Edit as you deem necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/3 "2008-09-05T04:33:13Z")
I suggest some excerpts from [Everybody’s Free (to wear sunscreen)](http://www.generationterrorists.com/quotes/sunscreen.html) ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/4 "2008-09-05T04:35:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Say over again, and yet once over again, > That thou dost love me. Though the word repeated > Should seem “a cuckoo-song,” as thou dost treat it, > Remember, never to the hill or plain, > Valley and wood, without her cuckoo-strain > Comes the fresh Spring in all her green completed, > Belovèd, I, amid the darkness greeted > By a doubtful spirit-voice, in that doubt’s pain > Cry, Speak once more–thou lovest! Who can fear > Too many stars, though each in heaven shall roll, > Too many flowers, though each shall crown the year? > Say thou dost love me, love me, love me–toll > The silver iterance!–only minding, Dear, > To love me also in silence with thy soul. Too syrupy? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/5 "2008-09-05T04:36:46Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > Too syrupy? Personally I like it. What is it? (I could google of course, but…) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/6 "2008-09-05T05:44:19Z")
Just to suggest something you may never have tried before… you could write something.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/7 "2008-09-05T05:50:10Z")
**i carry your heart with me** i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) \*\*ee cummings \*\* ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/8 "2008-09-05T05:57:00Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Personally I like it. What is it? (I could google of course, but…) [http://www.cswnet.com/~erin/ebbpoem.htm#xxi](http://www.cswnet.com/~erin/ebbpoem.htm#xxi) ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/9 "2008-09-05T05:57:57Z")
If she likes children’s books – and she doesn’t sound like she’s necessarily that kind of girl – there’s a sweet passage from _Frog And Toad Are Friends_. My copy of _F&T_ is packed, but a librarian might be able to find it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/10 "2008-09-05T05:59:01Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > **i carry your heart with me** > > i carry your heart with me(i carry it in > my heart)i am never without it(anywhere > i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done > by only me is your doing,my darling) > i fear > no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want > no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) > and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant > and whatever a sun will always sing is you > > here is the deepest secret nobody knows > (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud > and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows > higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) > and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart > > i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) > > \*\*ee cummings \*\* Which reminds me of Tom Lehrer’s song _I Hold Your Hand in Mine Dear_ \* I hold your hand in mine, dear, I press it to my lips. I take a healthy bite From your dainty fingertips. My joy would be complete, dear, If you were only here, But still I keep your hand As a precious souvenir.\* ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/11 "2008-09-05T06:01:04Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Just to suggest something you may never have tried before… > > you could write something.😃 I’ve tried, but I can’t find rhymes for “prenuptial”, Jaromír Jágr, or “honor killing”. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/12 "2008-09-05T06:10:14Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > **i carry your heart with me** > \*\*ee cummings \*\* Hey, cool. His deathday was just two ago. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/13 "2008-09-05T06:11:27Z")
Also, you might want to check out [Good Poems](http://www.amazon.com/Good-Poems-Garrison-Keillor/dp/0142003441/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220594910&sr=1-1), selected by Garrison Keillor. There’s a whole section on “Lovers”, probably a few dozen poems. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/14 "2008-09-05T11:33:14Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Which reminds me of Tom Lehrer’s song _I Hold Your Hand in Mine Dear_ > \* > I hold your hand in mine, dear, > I press it to my lips. > I take a healthy bite > From your dainty fingertips. > > My joy would be complete, dear, > If you were only here, > But still I keep your hand > As a precious souvenir.\* There’s a Faith Hill song that I think is titled “I’ll Take a Part of You with Me” and when I hear it, I’m reminded that I know too much about serial killers. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/15 "2008-09-05T13:08:06Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > There’s a Faith Hill song that I think is titled “I’ll Take a Part of You with Me” and when I hear it, I’m reminded that I know too much about serial killers. Yeah, but that’s useful information! Count yourself lucky! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/16 "2008-09-05T14:12:21Z")
I’ve always liked the good old-fashioned wedding stuff, you know, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.” And I’m not religious and I _hate hate hate_ Paul. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/17 "2008-09-05T14:27:13Z")
My favorite passage of this type is from Kahlil Gibran’s **The Prophet**. It is called “_On Marriage_” > [@](#): > > You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. > You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days. > Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. > But let there be spaces in your togetherness, > And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. > Love one another but make not a bond of love: > Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. > Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. > Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. > Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, > Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. > Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. > For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. > And stand together, yet not too near together: > For the pillars of the temple stand apart, > And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/18 "2008-09-05T14:45:44Z")
How’s about this passage from The Little Prince? > [@](#): > > “No,” said the little prince. “I am looking for friends. What does that mean–‘tame’?” > > “It is an act too often neglected,” said the fox. It means to establish ties." > > “‘To establish ties’?” > > “Just that,” said the fox. “To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world . . .” > > “I am beginning to understand,” said the little prince. “There is a flower . . . I think that she has tamed me . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/19 "2008-09-05T15:26:37Z")
My friend read this at my wedding: **It’s You I Like, by Mr. Rogers** It’s you I like, It’s not the things you wear, It’s not the way you do your hair– But it’s you I like The way you are right now, The way down deep inside you– Not the things that hide you, Not your toys– They’re just beside you. But it’s you I like– Every part of you, Your skin, your eyes, your feelings Whether old or new. I hope that you’ll remember Even when you’re feeling blue That it’s you I like, It’s you yourself, It’s you, it’s you I like. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128/20 "2008-09-05T16:50:18Z")
_Song of Solomon,_ classic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-something-sentimental-but-not-too-sappy-to-read-at-a-wedding-suggestions/462128.md?page=2)