This week's ceremony reading is A Creed To Live By by Nancye Sims. While this isn't a rhyming poem or romantic sonnet, it is a piece that will leave a lasting impression on your guests. Essentially a manifesto of life lessons - quite literally 'a creed to live by' - each line works as a sort of vow, that could be read by a single reader, or a selection of readers, and would make a strong set of values with which to start married life.

A Creed To Live By by Nancye Sims

Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.

It is because we are different that each of us are special. Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only do what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them life is meaningless.

Don't let life slip through your fingers by living in the past or in the future. By living one day at a time you live all days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is the fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible. The fastest way to lose love is to hold to it tightly, and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope, to be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.

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Photo by Magills Film and Photography via One Fab Day