Wedding Readings For Second Marriages • Vowness

A second wedding is not a smaller version of the first one. You already know what a marriage asks, and so do the people watching. The best readings for a second marriage tend to be honest about that. They speak about choosing, about gratitude and about starting again with open eyes.

Below you will find four original readings written for this page, a few public domain classics that fit well, and some practical ideas for building the ceremony, including how to bring children and family into it.

Quick guide: all 7 readings by speaking time. Tap a column heading to sort.

#	Reading	Time
1	A Chosen Love	30 sec
2	What The Years Taught Us	25 sec
3	Room For Everyone	25 sec
4	A Second Spring	20 sec
5	Rabbi Ben Ezra by Robert Browning, opening lines	15 sec
6	Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, King James Version	30 sec
7	Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare, opening lines	10 sec

Four Original Readings For A Second Marriage

A Chosen Love (about 35 seconds)

The first time we fall in love, we believe it will simply happen to us. The second time, we know better. We know that love is also a decision, made carefully and renewed every day.

Today you stand here having chosen each other, with open eyes and full hearts. That is no lesser thing. It may be the strongest kind there is.

What The Years Taught Us (about 40 seconds)

Each of you has lived a good deal of life. You have learned what to hold close and what to let go. You know what you need, and you know what you can give.

Marriage asks for both of those. Today you bring everything you have learned to each other, and you begin again, wiser and kinder than before.

Room For Everyone (about 40 seconds)

A table that has seen a lot of life can still be made bigger. Today two lives that were already full make room for each other.

Bring your stories, your friends and your families. Bring the good memories that came before. A new marriage does not erase what came earlier. It adds a chair.

A Second Spring (about 30 seconds)

Some gardens bloom twice. After a long winter the ground softens and the green comes back, quieter than before and just as sure.

May your marriage be that kind of garden: patient, well tended and full of the things you planted together.

Public Domain Classics That Fit

These are in the public domain, so you can read and print them freely.

Rabbi Ben Ezra by Robert Browning, opening lines

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

A natural choice when both of you are looking ahead to years together.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, King James Version

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

A good reading for a couple who know what it is to be alone and have chosen not to be.

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare, opening lines

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

Building A Second Wedding Ceremony

Keep it personal and a little shorter. Many second weddings have a ceremony of 15 to 20 minutes with one or two readings. You do not need to fill time.
Involve the people who matter. Ask an adult child, a close friend or a grandchild to read. A reading is a quiet way to include someone without a speech.
Acknowledge the past gently. A line that nods to what you have each lived through, as in "What The Years Taught Us", is warm. Avoid anything that dwells on a former partner.
Include children in a ritual. If either of you has children, a unity ritual such as a candle, a sand blend or a family vow brings them in. Our guide to blended family wedding readings has ideas.
Skip what does not fit. You do not have to have a bouquet toss, a garter or a "giving away". Choose the traditions that feel true.

Second Marriage Reading Questions

Who should read at a second wedding?

Children, siblings, close friends and parents are common choices. Asking an adult child to read is a way to include them, as long as they are comfortable with the role. Ask privately first, and make it easy for them to say no.

Can I use religious readings at a second wedding?

Yes. If you marry in a church, your minister or priest will tell you what is possible. Some churches have rules when a previous marriage is involved, so ask early. For a ceremony outside church, our Bible readings and non-religious readings are both available.

How long should the ceremony be?

Fifteen to thirty minutes is typical. With two readings at a minute each, the readings take little time. Choose a length that suits your guests.

Should we write our own vows?

Many couples do. Personal vows are a good way to mark a second marriage, and they let you speak directly to each other and to any children. Keep them short enough to say from memory or a card.

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