You know we love ceremony readings that are sincere, romantic, but all about the real talk! And I'd Rather Rise in Love With You by Jana Lynne Umipig ticks all those boxes and so many more for a wedding reading. Unipig is a poet, artist and activist, and when we were talking about feminist weddings a while back, I came across this poem and thought it might resonate with couples who want their marriage to be about adventure, growth, support and deliberate decisions, rather than the classic 'happily ever after'. This is a bold statement, but I think this might be my favourite ceremony reading yet!

I'd Rather Rise in Love With You by By Jana Lynne Umipig

I don’t want sweet nothings whispered in my ears
I’d rather be confronted by the savory somethings
That truths communicated - in fullness and compassion bring

I don’t want long gazes or to get lost in your eyes
I ‘d rather have our eyes brave exploration,
Discovering every part of each other from curve to line -
Every wrinkle and tint and shade
Every scar and marking that our livings have made

I don’t want to feel I knew you in another life
Or that I dreamed you in my sleep
I’d rather learn you piece by piece in reality
I’d rather you teach me how the you today
Is better than before
And I want my new self to love you more,
As I Love me more

I don’t’ want to be attached, or taken, or spoken for
I don’t want to make each other whole
I’d rather be two whole beings that Make Love
Mind, Body and Soul
I don’t want to believe you do not choose who you Love
That you just know when you do
Love, to me, is a choice, you wake up every day and you choose:
What you want
What you need
Speak your truths to receive
Truths in exchange - Past what is perceived
Past assumptions, to gain knowings
And to keep Love growing
It’s more than the showings
It’s the clarity in communication
It’s the calm and patience past frustrations
It’s the listening and the stillness -
It’s every message from body to breath

I don’t want to fall for you
Or fall in Love
Falling is falseness, it’s fleeting
I’d rather rise in love with you
In ascension
Without fear and apprehension
I don’t want to sacrifice any part of me to make it work
I want to invest in all of me and all of you
And give gratitude
That we empower one another in self worth

I don’t want to be possessed or bound by Love
I’d rather be Liberated in Loving
I’d rather be Love that is Revolutionary
Love that is Patience
And Presence
And Respect
And Pride
And Honesty, nothing to hide
And Attraction
And Joy
And Truth
In every thing we say, show and do

In Love with you is all of this to me
And there is no place I would rather be

Get ideas for more unique ceremony readings here

Featured image: Into the Light via One Fab Day