25 Best Bible Readings for a Wedding Ceremony

Last updated: 13th Dec 2023

Words from the Bible have truly stood the test of time. In a world where the pace of life seems to get quicker every day, Bible verses offer a gentle reminder of the virtues that bind us together — love, kindness, and the importance of faith.

Including a Bible reading in your wedding service is a beautiful and traditional way to express how you feel about your new spouse. It’s also a great way to ensure your wedding ceremony is rooted in your Christian beliefs and sets the stage for a marriage built on a foundation of faith and love.

But, with 3,145 verses in the Old Testament and 7,957 verses in the New Testament, it can be tricky knowing which wedding verse to pick. Read on for our 25 favourite wedding verses in the Bible, as well as some top tips on how to include a Bible reading in your special day.

What makes a good wedding reading from the Bible?

The most important thing about choosing a reading from the Bible is that it resonates with you, your partner, and your unique love story. The timeless nature of Bible verses means they can apply to lots of different situations or stages of life. The most important things to consider are:

Is it relevant to your relationship?
Does it suit the tone of your wedding?
Can you connect with the verse or use it as a source of inspiration?
Is it inclusive of those present?

If the answer to all or most of these questions is yes, then you’ve picked a good Bible verse for your wedding!

How to include a Bible reading in your wedding ceremony

There are multiple ways to work a Bible reading into your wedding ceremony. These include:

As a wedding reading

If you prefer a longer wedding verse or Bible story, you can use this as a wedding reading. Choosing a longer reading allows you to dive into the meaning of the text and emphasise the values included as a key part of your service.

As wedding vows

You can either incorporate a longer Bible verse into your vows or use shorter vows to draw emphasis to certain promises. For example, you could use Corinthians 16:14: “Do everything in love,” to highlight how you will do everything in love during your marriage.

For guest readings

If you’d like your guests to make readings during the ceremony, asking them to pick their favourite Bible verse is a great way to include them in your service. It not only removes the stress from picking a wedding reading, but it will help you get to know them a little better. After all, their favourite Bible verse will tell you a lot about their character, values, and how they practise their faith.

If the guest you ask to make a reading isn’t religious, ask them to read a Bible verse that resonates with you or your partner. This way, you can still incorporate the wisdom of scripture into your ceremony and remove the burden of choice from your guest.

During wedding speeches

Wedding speeches are a great chance to incorporate Bible verses into your wedding ceremony, especially if your service isn’t religious. You could either try using whole Bible verses in place of a speech or incorporating a few lines of your favourite verses for a touch of spiritual significance.

In thank you cards

You could also incorporate a few Bible verses into your wedding thank you cards. This is a great way to keep the spirituality of your big day alive, even after the ceremony has concluded. Try using 1 Thessalonians 3:12 to express your gratitude, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else.”

5 short Bible readings for a wedding

Romans 12:10: Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.
Romans 13:8: Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Ephesians 4:32: Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Song of Solomon 8:7: Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.
Ephesians 5:25: For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her…

5 unique Bible readings for a wedding

The First Letter of Saint John 4:7-12: Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love…
Song of Solomon 8:6-7: Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame…
Song of Solomon 6:3: I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. My beloved speaks and says to me: Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for lo, 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…
Psalms 92:12-15: The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Isaiah 62:4-5: People will not call you Deserted anymore. They will no longer name your land Empty. Instead, you will be called One the Lord Delights In. Your land will be named Married One. That’s because the Lord will take delight in you. And your land will be married. As a young man marries a young woman, so your Builder will marry you. As a groom is happy with his bride, so your God will be full of joy over you.

5 beautiful Bible readings about love and marriage

Genesis 2:18–22: Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”…So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
Genesis 2:24: Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Ephesians 5:25-29: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church…
Matthew 19:4-6: “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-5: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

5 Old Testament readings for a wedding

Proverbs 30:18-19: There are three things that amaze me—no, four things that I don’t understand: how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.
Ruth 1:16-17: Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.
Proverbs 31:10-13: When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.
Song of Songs 2:8-10: Hark! my lover—here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills. My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices. My lover speaks; he says to me, “Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!”
Book of Sirach 26:1-4: Blessed the husband of a good wife, twice-lengthened are his days; A worthy wife brings joy to her husband, peaceful and full is his life. A good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the Lord; Be he rich or poor, his heart is content, and a smile is ever on his face.

5 New Testament readings for a wedding

Colossians 3:14: And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians 5:2a: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the Church in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body.
Book of Revelation 19:1: “Alleluia! The Lord has established his reign, our God, the almighty. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made herself ready. She was allowed to wear a bright, clean linen garment.” Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” The word of the Lord.
John 15:9-10: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
John 2:1-11: On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The bottom line on wedding verses in the Bible

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Weaving Bible verses into your readings, speeches, or thank you cards is a great way to inject some spirituality into your wedding ceremony. Whether you’re planning on a church service or a more secular celebration, these verses can add a sacred touch that resonates with the essence of love, family, and commitment.

Bible verses can be used on their own or peppered throughout your wedding reading or speech. The best Bible verses will be those that resonate with you as a couple, or that represent your hopes and dreams for your married life.

So, whether you’re deeply religious or have a more casual relationship with spirituality, there’s always space for a Bible quote on your wedding day. If you’re looking for a shorter quote than the readings above, check out our post on 110 inspiring love quotes, which includes 10 short Bible quotes. Otherwise, see our post on wedding speech ideas, which contains inspiration for every type of wedding speech.

25 Best Bible Readings for a Wedding Ceremony

What makes a good wedding reading from the Bible?