“And wove, twue wove, wiww fowwow you fowevah and evah… So tweasuwe youw wove.”
Seriously tempted though I am to do THAT speech as a reading at my friend’s wedding, I suspect she will be less than impressed. So what should I do instead?
Top contender so far is [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in], by e.e.cummings – although it seems to be a wedding staple, it’s heartfelt and beautifully written, even if the bonkers punctuation won’t come be apparent as it’s read. He also writes some slightly ruder (yet still beautiful) poems, none of which I’ll be reading at a wedding in front of the parents.
I considered Shakespeare, but the pressure of reading the Bard in front of an audience, and the nagging fear that what I think is a beautiful turn of phrase is actually calling the bride a whore and the groom an adulterer (16th Century insults are poetic) is preventing me from going down that route.
Robin suggested the speech from Independence Day: “We will not go quietly into the night!” We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!” Which, although I initially scoffed at, is actually a good celebration of retaining your independence whilst becoming part of a married duo. Still, can’t see that going down well! (At first I thought Robin was talking about Do not go gentle into that good night. I suspect that would have gone down even less well than Independence Day.)
Your suggestions would be appreciated. What would you read at a wedding?