Marriage by William Letford is a wedding reading that speaks to couples who understand that love is built day by day. Rather than idealising romance, the poem focuses on the reality of sharing a life together, the routines, the humour, the companionship and the comfort that grows over time. It is honest, grounded and deeply human.
This is a poem about partnership in its truest sense. Letford’s language reflects the familiar rhythms of long-term love, where meaning is found in ordinary moments and shared habits rather than spectacle. For that reason, it has become a popular choice for humanist and non-religious wedding ceremonies, particularly for couples who value sincerity, warmth and emotional truth over formality.
I could take this opportunity
to wish you love and happiness
but you’ve already got that.
No, my wish for you
is the incidental, the ordinary,
to know someone
by the way their fork moves across a plate,
to see the majesty in someone’s back, sleeping.
My wish for you
is twenty thousand mornings
climbing out of bed together.
My wish for you
is twenty thousand sunsets
that you can’t see
because the curtains are closed and
you’re sitting in a room talking about
nothing in particular.
Let the special occasions
take care of themselves,
learn to recognise
the wonder in the everyday.
My wish for you is a life lived together
filled with breakfasts, suppers, spoons and pillows.