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5 Spanish Love Poems for Your Wedding Ceremony

Published Friday, Nov. 24th, 2023


Photo: Jonathan Borba / Unsplash

Romantic Spanish love poems to use as a wedding reading or include in your wedding officiant script

 

 

Looking for a sweet Spanish love poem to include in your wedding ceremony, or a few poetic phrases to add to a wedding reading or personal wedding vows? Consider one of the five classic Spanish love poems excerpted below. 

 

A simple wedding ceremony or elopement can be transformed into an unforgettable experience with the right reading. Choose a poem that resonates with you, that captures your style, and that expresses your love for your partner. 

 

If one of the poems below doesn’t fit your ceremony, browse Wedding Readings for more suggestions and ideas.

 

 

Want the perfect wedding officiant? Ask a friend or relative to get ordained online with AMM to officiate your ceremony! 

 

 

 

Newlyweds kiss while friends and family gather around them smiling and cheering, with ribbons

Photo: Omar Lopez / Unsplash

 

 

5 Spanish Love Poems to Use as a Wedding Reading

 

 

1. Amor Eterno (Eternal Love)
By Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

 

"Podrá nublarse el sol eternamente;
Podrá secarse en un instante el mar;
Podrá romperse el eje de la tierra
Como un débil cristal.

 

¡Todo sucederá! Podrá la muerte
Cubrirme con su fúnebre crespón;
Pero jamás en mí podrá apagarse
La llama de tu amor."

 

 

English translation
Translated by Esperanza

 

"The sun may be eternally cloudy;
The sea may dry up in an instant;
The axis of the earth may break
Like a fragile crystal.

 

Everything will happen! May death
Cover me with its funereal crepe;
But never in me will it go out

The flame for your love."

 


A beautiful wedding flower bouquet of red roses and greenery

Photo: Nick Karvounis / Unsplash

"¡Todo sucederá! Podrá la muerte / Cubrirme con su fúnebre crespón; / Pero jamás en mí podrá apagarse / La llama de tu amor." (from the poem Amor Eterno by Bécquer)

 

 


2. Excerpt from Soneto XVII
By Pablo Neruda

See the full poem on FavoritePoem.org

 

“…te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras,
secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.

 

 

Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde,
te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:
así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,

sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres,


tan cerca que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mía,
tan cerca que se cierran tus ojos con mi sueño.”

 

(This is an excerpt. See the full poem & listen to a reading of the poem here.)

 


English translation
See the full translated poem on PoetryFoundation.org
(From The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems, translated & edited by Mark Eisner. Copyright © 2004 City Lights Books)

 

“…I love you as one loves certain obscure things,   
secretly, between the shadow and the soul…

 

 

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,   
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,
except in this form in which I am not nor are you,   

 

so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,   
so close that your eyes close with my dreams.”

 

(This is an excerpt. See the full poem here.)

 

Related: 3 Pablo Neruda Love Poems for a Romantic Wedding Ceremony

 


Older adult newlyweds pose for a photo outdoors on their wedding day, leaning together smiling, the bride holds a small bouquet

Photo: Hector Pertuz / iStock

"Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde, / te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo..." (from the poem Soneto XVII by Pablo Neruda)

 

 

 

3. Excerpt from Te quiero (I love you)
By Mario Benedetti
See the full poem & listen to a reading on Poemas-del-Alma.com

 

“Tus manos son mi caricia
mis acordes cotidianos
te quiero porque tus manos
trabajan por la justicia

 

si te quiero es porque sos
mi amor mi cómplice y todo
y en la calle codo a codo
somos mucho más que dos

 

tus ojos son mi conjuro
contra la mala jornada
te quiero por tu mirada
que mira y siembra futuro…”

 

(This is an excerpt. See the full poem & hear it read aloud here.)

 

 

English translation
See the full translated poem on CulturaColectiva.com
Translated by Isabel Carrasco

 

“Your hands are my caress
my daily reminders
I love you because your hands
work hard for justice

 

if I love you, it’s because you are
my love my accomplice my all
and out in the street arm in arm
we are much more than two

 

Your eyes are my lucky charm
against the bad days
I love you for your look
that looks and seeds the future…”

 

(This is an excerpt. See the full translated poem here.)

 


Two brides kiss on the wedding day outdoors.

Photo: Tallie Robinson / Unsplash

"si te quiero es porque sos / mi amor mi cómplice y todo / y en la calle codo a codo/ somos mucho más que dos..." (from the poem Te quiero by Mario Benedetti)

 

 


4. Excerpt from Poema de la amistad (Poem of Friendship)
By Octavio Paz, Agyeya and Shikrant Verma

From Obras completas, 12 : obra poetica, ii (1969-1998)
See the full poem on LetresLibres.com

 

“La amistad es un río y un anillo. 
El río fluye a través del anillo.
El anillo es una isla en el río. 


Dice el río: antes no hubo río, después sólo río.
Antes y después: lo que borra la amistad. 
¿Lo borra? El río fluye y el anillo se forma.

 

Vivimos entre olvido y memoria: este instante
es una isla combatida por el tiempo incesante.

 

La amistad borra al tiempo y así nos libera…”

 

(This is an excerpt. See the full poem here.)

 


English translation
Translated by Esperanza 

 

“Friendship is a river and a ring. 
The river flows through the ring.
The ring is an island in the river. 


The river says: before there was no river, then only river.
Before and after: what erases friendship. 
Erases it? The river flows and the ring is formed.

 

We live between oblivion and memory: this instant

is an island fought by incessant time.

 

Friendship erases time and thus frees us…”

 

(This is a translated excerpt. See the full poem here.)

 

 

Close up of groom and bride holding hands outdoors on the wedding day

Photo: Paul García / Unsplash

“Dame la mano y danzaremos; / dame la mano y me amarás." (from the poem Dame La Mano by Gabriela Mistral)

 

 

 

5. Excerpt from Dame La Mano (Give Me Your Hand)
By Gabriela Mistral
See the full poem on Poets.org 

 

“Dame la mano y danzaremos;
dame la mano y me amarás.
Como una sola flor seremos,
como una flor, y nada más.

 

El mismo verso cantaremos,
al mismo paso bailarás…”

 

(This is an excerpt. See the full poem here.)

 

 

English translation
See the full translated poem on Poets.org 
(From Selected Poems of Gabriela Mistral: Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin; Copyright 2003 Ursula K. Le Guin)

 

“Give me your hand and give me your love,
give me your hand and dance with me.
A single flower, and nothing more,
a single flower is all we'll be.

 

Keeping time in the dance together,
singing the tune together with me…”

 

(This is an excerpt. See the full poem here.)


 


 

You might also like: 

 

 

Browse all Wedding Readings

 

Browse Spanish Wedding Ceremony Scripts

 

Browse Spanish Wedding Articles

 

 

Young wedding officiant completes the marriage license and paperwork.

Para ejecutar una boda legal como ministro de bodas, necesitas asegurarte de que cuentas con los requisitos estatales. Aprende más aquí.

 


 


Jessica Levey
Jessica Levey

Lead Staff Writer & Illustrator

Jessica loves exploring the history and magic of ritual, the connections between people and places, and sharing true stories about love and commitment. She's an advocate for marriage equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and individuality, and is an ordained Minister with AMM. When she’s not writing or illustrating for AMM, she enjoys city hikes, fantasy novels, comics, and traveling.

Esperanza
Esperanza

Staff Writer & Translator

Esperanza was born and raised in Seattle with Mexican roots. When she's not working at AMM, she's trying to raise respectful and thoughtful children. Although she is spicy, she is also sweet and takes pride in making others feel special making sure that they are heard and feel included.

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