15 LGBTQIA+ Wedding Readings Perfect for Any Partnership

In addition to your vows, including a ceremony reading in your celebration is a sweet, and sometimes playful, way to represent you and your partner. If you're a couple looking for LGBTQIA+ wedding readings, you want language that is inclusive while also articulating your love. As you plan your LGBTQIA+ wedding, look for readings that feature gender-neutral language, acceptance of all love or works penned by members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Jot down your favorites in your planner book and let your wedding vendors know which options you ultimately choose. Not sure where to find readings for a gay wedding? From poems to song lyrics, we found the best LGBTQIA+ wedding readings that celebrate love.

1. All About Love by bell hooks

Penned by feminist and queer writer bell hooks, this LGBTQIA+ wedding reading is short, yet incredibly emotional. It describes the power of love and how it liberates us from fear and separation and moves us towards freedom.

"The moment we choose to love, we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love, we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom... When we choose to love, we choose to move against fear, against alienation and separation. The choice to love is a choice to connect, to find ourselves in the other."

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2. I Love You to the Moon &, by Chen Chen

This gay marriage reading whimsically celebrates queer love. When describing the poem, Chen said, "To say 'I love you' is at once everyday and extraordinary, like the glorious fact of the moon."

"not back, let's not come back, let's go by the speed of/ queer zest & stay up/ there & get ourselves a little/ moon cottage (so pretty), then start a moon garden/ with lots of moon veggies (so healthy), I mean/ I was already moonlighting/ as an online monologist/ most weekends, so this is the immensely/ logical next step, are you/ packing your bags yet, don't forget your/ sailor moon jean jacket, let's wear/ our sailor moon jean jackets while twirling in that lighter/ queerer moon gravity, let's love each other/ (so good) on the moon, let's love/ the moon/ on the moon."

3. All I Know About Love, by Neil Gaiman

This gender-neutral gay marriage reading says that no one can tell you about love, because it's different for every person and in every relationship. That's why English author Neil Gaiman says what he really knows about love is nothing.

"This is everything I have to tell you about love: nothing/ This is everything I've learned about marriage: nothing/ Only that the world out there is complicated/ and there are beasts in the night, and delight and pain/ and the only thing that makes it okay/ sometimes/ is to reach out a hand in the darkness and find another hand to squeeze/ and not to be alone/ It's not the kisses, or never just the kisses: it's what they mean/ Somebody's got your back/ Somebody knows your worst self and somehow doesn't want to rescue you/ or send for the army to rescue them/ It's not two broken halves becoming one/ It's the light from a distant lighthouse bringing you both safely home/ because home is wherever you are both together/ So this is everything I have to tell you about love and marriage: nothing/ like a book without pages or a forest without trees/ Because there are things you cannot know before you experience them…"

4. Statement in Hodges v. Obergefell by Justice Anthony Kennedy

In June 2015 the Supreme Court made a landmark decision that granted same-sex couples the right to marry. During this ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy made a moving statement about equality and the right to marry whomever you love.

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."

5. "Love They Say," by Tegan and Sara

Canadian duo and twins Tegan and Sara are known for their indie pop music and support for LGBTQIA+ equality. Their song "Love They Say" shares the beautiful message that there's nothing love can't do.

"First time I saw your face I knew I was meant for you/ First time you said my name I knew I was meant for you/ Love, they say, it heals all wounds/ Love removes the hurt in you/ Love, I know that this is true/ Love, they say that it is blind/ Love, they say it all the time/ Love, I know that they are right/ Love, they say this/ You don't need to wonder if love will make us stronger/ There's nothing love can't do…"

6. "Home," by Imelda May

Written by Irish singer and songwriter Imelda May, "Home" is an ode to true love and intimacy between two partners. The gender-neutral lyrics are a beautiful choice for an LGBTQIA+ wedding reading.

"What is love?", you ask/ My head spins, recallin' every song/ Story, words and glorious things I ever heard/ Every cliché rings in my ears/ Like a bell announcin' the birth of a new day/ Or the death of yesterday/ Depends on how you hear it/ I haven't a clue/ So I ask love: "What are you?"/ Love replies: "Can't you feel me? I'm here/ I'm the one holdin' your hand remindin' you not to forget me/ I'm the warm feelin' in your belly when you don't know why/ I'm the ache to the core when one someone sways to the other side of a vibe/ I'm the tingle of your skin when it's touched by the tip of a thrill you can rely on/ The knowing, when your eyes meet eyes that recognize yours/ And hold you, loose enough to move freely/ But tight enough to never let you fall/ I'm the breath you take in and let all the way out to the end/ When you're held/ And your shoulders drop into arms/ You flop that feel like a blanket of truth/ And wrap you and soothe you…"

7. This Marriage, by Rumi

Bless your marriage with a poem that wishes you and your partner a life of compassion, happiness and laughter. The LGBTQIA+ wedding reading was written by Rumi, the 13th-century poet known for his works about life and love.

"May these vows and this marriage be blessed/ May it be sweet milk/ this marriage, like wine and halvah/ May this marriage offer fruit and shade/ like the date palm/ May this marriage be full of laughter/ our every day a day in paradise/ May this marriage be a sign of compassion/ a seal of happiness here and hereafter/ May this marriage have a fair face and a good name/ an omen as welcomes the moon in a clear blue sky/ I am out of words to describe/ how spirit mingles in this marriage."

8. "The Book of Love," by The Magnetic Fields

This cute and lighthearted song makes an excellent gay marriage ceremony reading. While the singer initially appears to have a cynical look on love, in reality, they are head over heels for their partner.

"The book of love is long and boring/ No one can lift the damn thing/ It's full of charts and facts and figures/ and instructions for dancing/ but I/ I love it when you read to me
and you/ you can read me anything/ The book of love has music in it/ In fact that's where music comes from/ Some of it is just transcendental/ Some of it is just really dumb/ but I/ I love it when you sing to me/ and you/ you can sing me anything/ The book of love is long and boring/ and written very long ago/ It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes/ and things we're all too young to know/ but I/ I love it when you give me things
and you/ you ought to give me wedding rings/ I love it when you give me things/ and you/ you ought to give me wedding rings."

9. Coming Home, by Mary Oliver

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver found her muse in nature. She gathered inspiration during walks around her Provincetown, Massachusetts home, which she shared with her partner, Molly Cook, for 40 years. Coming Home is an optimistic look at life's journey and sharing it with someone you love.

"When we are driving in the dark/ on the long road to Provincetown/ when we are weary/ when the buildings and the scrub pines lose their familiar look/ I imagine us rising from the speeding car/ I imagine us seeing everything from another place/ the top of one of the pale dunes, or the deep and nameless/ fields of the sea/ And what we see is a world that cannot cherish us/ but which we cherish/ And what we see is our life moving like that/ along the dark edges of everything/ headlights sweeping the blackness/ believing in a thousand fragile and unprovable things/ Looking out for sorrow/ slowing down for happiness/ making all the right turns/ right down to the thumping barriers to the sea/ the swirling waves/ the narrow streets, the houses/ the past, the future/ the doorway that belongs/ to you and me."

10. Song of the Open Road, by Walt Whitman

Speculated to be gay or bisexual, American poet Walt Whitman's work focused on loss and healing and was often provocative for its time. The last stanza of Song on the Open Road evokes a romantic adventure between two people who plan to share their lives together.

"Camerado, I give you my hand/ I give you my love more precious than money/ I give you myself before preaching or law/ Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me?/ Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?"

11. That I Did Always Love, by Emily Dickinson

It was believed that Emily Dickinson was romantically linked to her childhood friend and sister-in-law Susan Gilbert. Dickinson wrote roughly 1,800 poems in her lifetime, but many were published after her death. Unfortunately, it is speculated that Gilbert was purposefully left out of Dickinson's work by her publisher.

"That I did always love/ I bring thee proof/ That till I loved/ I never lived—Enough/ That I shall love alway/ I argue thee/ That love is life/ And life hath immortality/ This—dost thou doubt—Sweet/ Then have I/ Nothing to show/ But calvary."

12. Excerpt from Still Life with Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins

Include a slice of modern literature in your LGBTQIA+ wedding reading with this gender-neutral passage from Still Life with Woodpecker. The story is a wild ride centered on the love between an outlaw and an environmentalist princess but also includes reflections on consumerism, royalty, the moon and aliens.

"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words 'make' and 'stay' become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free."

13. You Are the Bubbles, by Rachel Bright

You and your partner are better together, like the bubbles in champagne, or the last pages of your favorite book. Written by bestselling English author Rachel Bright, this poem celebrates two people in love and is a sweet option for a lesbian wedding reading.

"Together, you are the bubbles in one another's champagne/ The morning sun through a window/ The breaking of a smile/ Together, you are the one doughnut in the bag with more jam than all the others/ That photo where everybody looks great/ The know-all-the-words, sing-out-of-tune chorus of your favorite song/ Together, you are the beginnings of a big idea/ The twinkly bits that hang in the sky after the firework goes bang/ The cold, thin air at the top of a mountain/ The only two people in a crowded room/ Together, you are that unforgettable day of the holiday/ An accidental adventure/ Chocolate chip/ The last two pages of your favorite book/ A BBQ with friends/ The spray of the sea/ The nose of the cheese/ A kiss/ A hug/ A hold-my-hand/ A decision which, looking back, will seem to be the most excellent one you've ever made/ Together you are bubbles/ The unburstable bubbles of the very best things in life/ The only things any of us ever really need."

14. To Be One With Each Other, by George Eliot

This LGBTQIA+ wedding reading is perfect if you're looking for something short and sweet. Written by George Eliot (a pen name for Mary Ann Evans), the poem doesn't mention gender, but simply two human souls who are joining together in love and in life.

"What greater thing is there for two human souls/ than to feel that they are joined for life/ to strengthen each other in all labour/ to rest on each other in all sorrow/ to minister to each other in all pain/ to share with each other in all gladness/ to be one with each other in the silent unspoken memories."

15. We Have Not Long to Love, by Tennessee Williams

We Have Not Long to Love shares the message that we should always live in the moment, especially when it comes to love. The LGBTQIA+ wedding reading was written by playwright and screenwriter Tennessee Williams, who celebrated a 15-year relationship with his partner Frank Merlo.

"We have not long to love/ Light does not stay/ The tender things are those/ we fold away/ Coarse fabrics are the ones/ for common wear/ In silence I have watched you
comb your hair/ Intimate the silence/ dim and warm/ I could but did not, reach/ to touch your arm/ I could, but do not, break/ that which is still/ (Almost the faintest whisper
would be shrill)/ So moments pass as though/ they wished to stay/ We have not long to love/ A night. A day."