Ceremony readings that aren't 1 Corinthians 13 (though that one's still good)

1 Corinthians 13 ("Love is patient, love is kind") has become the default wedding reading almost by momentum, chosen because it's what everyone else chooses. It's still a genuinely good reading, but there are plenty of others worth considering if you'd like your ceremony to feel a little less familiar.

Poetry

• "i carry your heart with me" by E.E. Cummings
• "The Sun Rising" by John Donne
• "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, for a less romantic-in-the-traditional-sense but deeply moving option

Prose

• An excerpt from "The Velveteen Rabbit" on what it means to become real to someone
• A passage from a novel or letter that has personal significance to the two of you specifically

Non-literary options

Lyrics from a meaningful song, read rather than sung, or a passage written by a family member specifically for the occasion, can feel more personal than anything pulled from an anthology, even a good one.

The reading matters less than who reads it

A reading delivered by someone who genuinely cares about you, even if their delivery is a little nervous, usually lands better than a polished reading from someone with no real connection to the couple. Choose the reader with as much care as the words themselves.