Love is patient, Love is kind: Corinthians Wedding Reading & 5 Unique Alternatives

Include this memorable Corinthians verse about love in your wedding ceremony, or choose one of 5 unique alternatives instead

 

 

“Love is patient, love is kind…” These wise words have been read at many wedding ceremonies throughout the years, and it’s easy to see why. 

 

This Bible verse describes the ideal love – a version of love to aspire to as married people. For many Christians, it’s a reminder of how to love a spouse in a godly way and how to act toward them in marriage.

 

This reading is popular because of its spiritual nature but is frequently read at non-religious civil ceremonies as well, as a universal reminder to nurture kindness, compassion, and strength in marriage.

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 - Wedding Reading

Two Translations to Compare

 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (from the New International Version (NIV))

 

 

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." (from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVue))

 

More Bible verses for weddings: 
10 Popular Bible Verses about Marriage, Love, & Commitment

 

 

For the Officiant - Wedding Ceremony Scripts that Include 1 Corinthians 13: 

 

• Christian Ceremony Script With A Bible Reading And Prayer

 

• Christian Wedding Script with Cord of Three Strands Ceremony

 

• Christian Wedding Ceremony with Marriage Prayer & Recognition of Children
   
• Episcopal Wedding Ceremony Script with the Lord's Prayer
   
• Muslim & Christian Interfaith Wedding Ceremony Script

 

• Jewish & Christian Interfaith Wedding Script with Breaking the Glass Ritual
   
• Medieval Themed Wedding Ceremony Script

 

• Written Vows Ceremony Script

 

 

Photo: One zone Studio / Unsplash

Love is patient, love is kind...

 

5 Alternatives to this Corinthians wedding reading

 

If you’d like to include a second complementary reading, or want to choose an alternative to this passage from Corthintians that’s similar but non-religious (or just not from scripture), consider one of the short readings below: 

 

 

Religious: 

 

1. 1 John 4:7-8 
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVue)

 

 "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."

 

2. Excerpt from Colossians 3:12 -14 

New International Version Bible (NIV) 

 

"…Holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another…Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

 

 

Photo: Tallie Robinson / Unsplash

"Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way..."

 

Nonreligious

 

3. Excerpt from ‘How Do I Love Thee?’ (Sonnet 43)
By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

“...I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life…”

 

Read the full poem on Poets.org

 

4. Quote about Marriage 
Often attributed to Rabbi Barnett Brickner

 

“Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate.”

 

5. Quote from The Art of Loving
By Erich Fromm

 

“To love somebody is not just a strong feeling – it is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise. If love were only a feeling, there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever. A feeling comes and it may go. How can I judge that it will stay forever, when my act does not involve judgment and decision?”

 

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You might also like: 

 

• Your Religion, My Religion, or No Religion - Make Sure Your Officiant Knows!
   
• What is an SBNR Wedding Officiant & How Do You Become One?

 

• An Intro to Interfaith & Interspiritual Wedding Ceremonies

 

 

Learn about Interfaith and Interspiritual beliefs, and how these concepts apply to wedding ceremonies. Read the full article here. 

 

 

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