Choose the words you want to hear under a glowing sunset.
Short summer reads…
Vow renewal readings give a ceremony its texture. A few well-chosen lines, read by someone you love or by me, can say what you feel in a way your own vows do not need to.
I'm Leon of Twilight Ceremonies, an accredited celebrant and photographer based in Llandudno. Readings can be as classic or as personal as you like, and here is how to choose ones that fit your ceremony.
Start With What You Already Love
Look back at your wedding. If a reading meant something then, hearing it again years later can be very moving. If you eloped with nobody reading, now is the chance to add one.
Classic Poems That Still Work
Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 is about love that does not change with time, which suits a renewal perfectly. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?" is another favourite. Both are short, familiar and easy to read aloud.
Words From Your Children or Family
A few lines written by your children, or read by a parent or friend, can be the most memorable moment of the evening. It does not need to be polished to be perfect.
Song Lyrics and Book Passages
A verse from your first dance or a passage from a book you both love can work well. Keep it brief, so the ceremony keeps its gentle pace.
How Many Readings?
One or two is plenty for a sunset ceremony. How a vow renewal ceremony is put together shows where readings sit.
Your Ceremony, Anywhere
The Sunset Vow Renewal is £450.00 on the live offerings page. Cemlyn, Abersoch or the Conwy estuary all make lovely settings, but you can choose anywhere: home, your garden, elsewhere in the UK or abroad. Couples who eloped with Elope with Leon receive a free celebration or 15% off.
The right reading sounds like your marriage, not like anyone else's. Read a non-religious vow renewal, then book a sunset wedding anniversary.
Words worth hearing again, years after the first time.