Meaningful Wedding Blessings to Include in Your Celebration
A marriage is an enormous commitment that brings two lives together to become one. An integral part of the wedding ceremony and reception are wedding blessings, which are moments that allow friends, family or clergy to bless the newlyweds in their life together.
A good wedding blessing wishes love and prosperity to the couple, incorporates a religious or meaningful tradition and uses their names for added personalization. As you craft a blessing for a wedding, find an officiant on The Knot Vendor Marketplace who will assist in this process and ensure your ceremony is exactly what you want it to be. To help get you started, we've collected numerous wedding blessings and wishes from various cultures and traditions.
Wedding Blessings to Consider in This Story: Short | Non-Religious | From Different Traditions | FAQs
Short Wedding Blessings
Short prayers from pastors or wedding blessing scriptures are always a good go-to option for showering newlyweds with love. This assortment of wedding blessings includes prayers that can be read aloud to the couple during the reception, ceremony or as a wedding meal blessing to bestow love, grace and encouragement to the couple.
1. Song of Solomon 2:10-13 Bible Wedding Blessing
"My beloved speaks and says to me: 'Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.'"
2. Memorial Wedding Blessing
"Today you're getting married, your love is truly blessed. Though you cannot see me, I am your silent guest. I am watching from Heaven as you exchange your vows, and I am just as excited as each of you are now. Always remember that I still love you, and know that if I had my way, I'd be right beside you on your wedding day."
3. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Bible Wedding Blessing
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
4. Wedding Dinner Blessing
"Please bow your heads with me. Lord God, we are so grateful to celebrate the commitment that [name] and [name] made today as we sit around these dinner tables. May you bless their marriage right now. Give them days filled with joy and nights filled with peace. Bring them years filled with hope and a lifetime full of happiness. Bless this bond they committed to today, and bless this food set before us."
5. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Bible Wedding Blessing
"Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things."
6. A Wedding Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson
"Lord, behold our family here assembled. We thank you for this place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us, for the peace accorded us this day, for the hope with which we expect the morrow, for the health, the work, the food and the bright skies that make our lives delightful; for our friends in all parts of the earth. Amen."
7. Proverbs 3:3-4 Bible Wedding Blessing
"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man."
Non-Religious Wedding Blessings
Not all wedding blessings and wishes need to be centered around God or a certain religion. These nonreligious ceremony readings and blessings are tried and true words that wish a sweet marriage filled with friendship, strength and tenderness to the newlyweds. Consider setting the stage for these wedding day blessings by sharing a bit about the author and how the words reflect your own hopes and dreams for the couple.
8. "The Marriage" Wedding Blessing Poem by Rumi
"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."
9. Wedding Ring Blessing
"A marriage is a union that is greater than the sum of its parts. Words cannot quite express the profoundness of this commitment, but for generations, rings have stood as a symbol of its permanence and sincerity. As a circle can start anew at any of its points, so a solid marriage can always renew itself. Today, we bless these rings as they remind us of your eternal love."
10. Wedding Blessing for Dinner
"We are thankful for the ceremony today that showed and cemented the love between (name) and (name). As we prepare to enjoy this incredible dinner set before us, we express our gratitude for the people who had their hand in growing and raising this meal, for those who worked meticulously to prepare it and those working to serve us tonight. As we eat together, may our friendships be strengthened and this marriage be celebrated."
11. Blessings of the Hands by Reverend Daniel Harris
"These are the hands of your partner, young and strong and full of love, holding your hands as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future. These are the hands that will hold you and comfort you in grief and uncertainty. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and joy. These are the hands that will hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength. And these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch."
12. "That Still and Settled Place" by Edward Monkton
"In that still and settled place, there's nobody but you.
You're where I breathe my oxygen. You're where I see my view.
And when the world feels full of noise, my heart knows what to do.
It finds that still and settled place and dances there with you."
Wedding Blessings from Different Traditions
Different traditions and cultures can bring unique flavors to a wedding, whether it is an extra dose of dancing, a gift that has been given from one family to another for centuries or a beautiful quote spoken time and time again to bless a marriage. Here are a few such words that highlight someone's heritage and celebrate their vows.
13. Irish Wedding Blessing
"May God be with you and bless you. May you see your children's children. May you be poor in misfortunes and rich in blessings. May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward."
14. Celtic Wedding Blessing
"May there always be work for your hands to do. May your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine upon your window pane. May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near to you, and may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."
15. Jewish Wedding Blessing
Here is one of the seven Jewish blessings, known as Sheva Brachot, recited on the wedding day: "Sameach t'samach rei'im ha'ahuvim k'simchacha ytzircha b'gan eden mikedem. Baruch ata Adonai, m'sameach chatan v'kala."
Translation: "The loving partners shall rejoice as You caused your creatures to delight in the Garden of Eden of old. Blessed are you Lord who causes the groom and bride to rejoice."
16. Christian Wedding Blessing
"May God bless this marriage with hope that is sure, with faith that is steady and with love that endures."
17. Italian Blessing Wedding
"May your life be like good wine: tasty, sharp and clear. Like good wine, may it improve with every passing year."
18. Catholic Wedding Blessing
"May the Lord Jesus, who graced the marriage at Cana by His presence, bless you and your loved ones. May He, who loved the Church to the end, unceasingly pour his love into your hearts. May the Lord grant that, bearing witness to faith in His Resurrection, you may await with joy the blessed hope to come. And may Almighty God bless all of you, who are gathered here, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
19. Hawaiian Wedding Blessing
"Ei-Ah Eha-No. Ka Malohia. Oh-Na-Lani. Mea A-Ku A-Pau."
Translation: "May peace from above rest upon you and remain with you. Now and forever."
20. Polish Wedding Blessing
Wedding blessings from parents to be given along with a gift of bread, wine and salt: "According to our Old Polish tradition, we greet you with bread and salt so that your home might always enjoy abundance."
21. Hindu Wedding Blessings or Saptapadi
"Let us provide for our household, stay in good health and carry out our duties and responsibilities to each other, our families and our tradition. Let us develop our mental and spiritual powers. Let us increase our wealth and comfort by righteous and proper means. Let us acquire knowledge, happiness and harmony by mutual love, respect and trust. Let us be blessed with a content family of strong, virtuous and heroic children. Let us be blessed with long lives. Let us remain true companions, committed only to each other."
22. Buddhist Wedding Blessing by Lama Thubten Yeshe
"Today we promise to dedicate ourselves completely to each other, with body, speech, and mind. In this life, in every situation, in wealth or poverty, in health or sickness, in happiness or difficulty, we will work to help each other perfectly. The purpose of our relationship will be to attain enlightenment by perfecting our kindness and compassion toward all sentient beings."
23. Germain Wedding Blessing by Rainer Maria Rilke
This German wedding blessing comes from "Liebeslied" by Rainer Maria Rilke: "Wie soll ich meine Seele halten, daß
sie nicht an deine rührt? Wie soll ich sie
hinheben über dich zu andern Dingen?
Ach gerne möcht ich sie bei irgendwas
Verlorenem im Dunkel unterbringen
an einer fremden stillen Stelle, die
nicht weiterschwingt, wenn deine Tiefen schwingen.
Doch alles, was uns anrührt, dich und mich,
nimmt uns zusammen wie ein Bogenstrich,
der aus zwei Saiten eine Stimme zieht.
Auf welches Instrument sind wir gespannt?
Und welcher Spieler hat uns in der Hand?
O süßes Lied!"
Translation: "How shall I hold my soul and yet not touch
It with your own? How shall I ever place
It clear of you on anything beyond?
Oh gladly I would stow it next to such
Things in the darkness as are never found
Down in an alien and silent space
That does not resonate when you resound.
But everything that touches me and you
Takes us together like a bow on two
Taut strings to stroke them to the voice of one.
What instrument have we been lain along?
Whose are the hands that play our unison?
Oh sweet song!"
24. Spanish Wedding Blessing
"Que sean muy felices toda su vida."
Translation: "May you both be very happy for the rest of your life."
Wedding Blessing Frequently Asked Questions
Choosing wedding prayers and blessings can be a tricky task, especially as you walk the fine line of sincerity, religious influence and personality. Here are a few frequently asked questions about who and how to give a blessing for a wedding.
Who Does the Blessing at the Wedding Reception?
The wedding reception blessing is often given by a close relative or mentor to the couple. Oftentimes, this is the father of the bride, but it could also be a grandparent, pastor, close friend or another relative or caretaker. If more than one person is giving a blessing, spread them throughout the day, like the end of the wedding ceremony, start of the reception meal and at the send-off.
How Do You Best Say a Blessing at a Wedding?
To say a blessing at a wedding, start by politely getting everyone's attention. Then, share your short, prepared words confidently so all can hear. Focus on blessing the newlywed's marriage, celebrating the commitment and encouraging them in their future together. Consider the couple's spiritual background, cultural traditions and personal story as you pick the right words for their wedding blessings.