22 Bible verses for a wedding ceremony, from the invitation to the vows
Written by Raphael Navarro Schmitt · Reviewed by Maria Luisa Navarro Schmitt ·
Short answer
The most chosen wedding reading is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, which describes love through verbs rather than feelings — this edition calls it charity. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 gives the image of the threefold cord, and Ruth 1:16-17 is the text most used by couples writing their own vows.
Choosing the wedding reading usually happens somewhere between the guest list and the rehearsal, with very little time. So, straight to it: the list below is organised by use. First the passages that work read aloud at the ceremony, then the short ones that fit on an invitation, a ring or the stationery, and finally the ones that give you something to build vows on.
One useful warning: some of the most beautiful texts are far too long for a microphone. The whole of 1 Corinthians 13 takes over two minutes and attention drops in the middle; verses 4 to 7 on their own say everything that needs saying. The Song of Solomon, likewise, makes an unforgettable reading when you pick the right lines — and an awkward one when you do not.
And remember who is in the room. A wedding is one of the few occasions when people who have never opened a Bible will listen to a passage from it with total attention. Choosing with them in mind usually works better than choosing the couple’s favourite verse.
All 22 verses, one by one
4Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not inflated.
5Charity is not ambitious, does not seek for itself, is not provoked to anger, devises no evil.
6Charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices in truth.
7Charity suffers all, believes all, hopes all, endures all.
The most requested reading, and for good reason: it is a run of verbs with not one adjective about feeling. Note that this edition uses charity where most read love. Paul wrote it for a church in conflict, not for a couple — which is why it holds up in the hard years.
Read the chapter9Therefore, it is better for two to be together, than for one to be alone. For they have the advantage of their companionship.
10If one falls, he shall be supported by the other. Woe to one who is alone. For when he falls, he has no one to lift him up.
11And if two are sleeping, they warm one another. How can one person alone be warmed?
12And if a man can prevail against one, two may withstand him, and a threefold cord is broken with difficulty.
Four practical scenes: working, falling, sleeping cold, being attacked. It is the least idealised text about partnership in the whole Bible, which is exactly why it ages best.
Read the chapterThe Lord God also said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper for him similar to himself.”
The first thing God calls "not good" in the creation account is being alone. Worth reading knowing that the word translated helper is the same one the Psalms use for God himself — there is nothing subordinate in it.
Read the chapter23And Adam said: “Now this is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh. This one shall be called woman, because she was taken from man.”
24For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh.
The first speech of love recorded in the Bible is a recognition: bone from my bones. And the next verse describes the gesture every ceremony re-enacts — leaving one house to start another.
Read the chapter6But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
7Because of this, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife.
8And these two shall be one in flesh. And so, they are now, not two, but one flesh.
9Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.”
The line almost every celebrant uses at the end comes from here. Notice that Jesus is quoting Genesis: he treats marriage as older than any religious rule about it.
Read the chapter16She answered, “Do not be against me, as if I would abandon you and go away; for wherever you will go, I will go, and where you will stay, I also will stay with you. Your people are my people, and your God is my God.
17Whichever land will receive you dying, in the same I will die, and there I will have the place of my burial. May God cause these things to happen to me, and add more also, if anything except death alone should separate you and I.”
The text most used in vows, and it is not even about marriage: it is a daughter-in-law speaking to her mother-in-law. Perhaps that is why it works so well — a promise of loyalty with no expectation of return.
Read the chapter7Set me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your arm. For love is strong, like death, and envy is enduring, like hell: their lamps are made of fire and flames.
8A multitude of waters cannot extinguish love, nor can a river overwhelm it. If a man were to give all the substance of his house in exchange for love, he would despise it as nothing.
The seal, the fire, and a sentence no other part of the Bible risks: love is strong, like death. If you read only one passage from the Song of Solomon at the ceremony, read this one.
Read the chapterI am for my beloved, and my beloved is for me. He pastures among the lilies.
One line short enough to engrave on a ring or print on an invitation. It is the simplest sentence in the book and the most reproduced on wedding stationery — deservedly.
Read the chapter12Therefore, clothe yourselves like the elect of God: holy and beloved, with hearts of mercy, kindness, humility, modesty, and patience.
13Support one another, and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive one another. For just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also must you do.
14And above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection.
The list of garments Paul tells you to put on ends in charity, called the bond of perfection. And in the middle of it sits the word most needed after the honeymoon: forgive.
Read the chapterBut, before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves. For love covers a multitude of sins.
A short, realistic line: love covers a multitude of sins. Peter is not saying tolerate everything — he is saying that a shared life produces friction, and somebody has to absorb it.
Read the chapter25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and handed himself over for her,
26so that he might sanctify her, washing her clean by water and the Word of life,
27so that he might offer her to himself as a glorious Church, not having any spot or wrinkle or any such thing, so that she would be holy and immaculate.
28So, too, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
The most argued-over passage in the Bible about marriage, and the part addressed to the husband is the most demanding: love as someone who handed himself over. Christians read the whole chapter in different ways — this excerpt is what the traditions affirm together.
Read the chapter31“For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh.”
32This is a great Sacrament. And I am speaking in Christ and in the Church.
Paul quotes Genesis and then admits the comparison is bigger than he can hold. This edition renders that admission as "a great Sacrament", where others say mystery — and the difference between those two words is one of the real dividing lines between the traditions.
Read the chapter7Most beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8Whoever does not love, does not know God. For God is love.
A good choice to open the ceremony, because it is not about the couple: it is about where the capacity to love comes from. It works in front of a room that is not entirely religious.
Read the chapter9Let love be without falseness: hating evil, clinging to what is good,
10loving one another with fraternal charity, surpassing one another in honor:
Love without falseness is an unusually demanding thing to say at a wedding, and that is precisely why it earns its place. The rest is household etiquette: outdo each other in honour.
Read the chapter3Let not mercy and truth abandon you: encircle them around your throat, and inscribe them on the tablets of your heart.
4And so shall you discover grace and good discipline, in the sight of God and men.
Mercy and truth tied around the throat and written on the tablets of the heart. It is one of the few biblical texts that describes a virtue as something worn on the body — the image fits the exchange of rings.
Read the chapterHe who has found a good wife has found goodness, and he shall draw contentment from the Lord. He who expels a good wife expels goodness. But he who holds on to an adulteress is foolish and impious.
Read it as what it is: a declaration that finding someone for life is good fortune, not an achievement. Note that this edition runs the proverb longer than most, with a warning attached at the end — for stationery, use only the opening clause.
Read the chapterA Canticle in steps: of Solomon. Unless the Lord has built the house, those who build it have labored in vain. Unless the Lord has guarded the city, he who guards it watches in vain.
The building-site image is useful on the day two budgets become one. The psalm does not say nobody should work — it says who the result depends on.
Read the chapter1A Canticle in steps. Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.
2For you will eat by the labors of your hands. Blessed are you, and it will be well with you.
3Your wife is like an abundant vine on the sides of your house. Your sons are like young olive trees surrounding your table.
4Behold, so will the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
A domestic psalm, with a vine at the side of the house and children around the table. It is the best passage for a family blessing, if the couple want to mention children without turning it into a promise.
Read the chapter1And on the third day, a wedding was held in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
2Now Jesus was also invited to the wedding, with his disciples.
3And when the wine was failing, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
4And Jesus said to her: “What is that to me and to you, woman? My hour has not yet arrived.”
5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6Now in that place, there were six stone water jars, for the purification ritual of the Jews, containing two or three measures each.
7Jesus said to them, “Fill the water jars with water.” And they filled them to the very top.
8And Jesus said to them, “Now draw from it, and carry it to the chief steward of the feast.” And they took it to him.
9Then, when the chief steward had tasted the water made into wine, since he did not know where it was from, for only the servants who had drawn the water knew, the chief steward called the groom,
10and he said to him: “Every man offers the good wine first, and then, when they have become inebriated, he offers what is worse. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
11This was the beginning of the signs that Jesus accomplished in Cana of Galilee, and it manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
The first miracle happens at a wedding party, and the problem solved is running out of drink. Worth quoting at the ceremony: the Bible does not treat the joy of a party as a minor matter.
Read the chapter3I give thanks to my God, with every remembrance of you,
4always, in all my prayers, making supplication for all of you with joy,
5because of your communion in the Gospel of Christ, from the first day even until now.
6I am confident of this very thing: that he who has begun this good work in you will perfect it, unto the day of Christ Jesus.
Written to friends, but it is the perfect reading for thanking the guests: gratitude for every remembrance, and the confidence that the work begun will be finished.
Read the chapterBut for now, these three continue: faith, hope, and charity. And the greatest of these is charity.
One line to close the ceremony or end a speech. Three things remain, and it tells you which is greatest — which settles the question of how to finish.
Read the chapter24‘May the Lord bless you and keep you.
25May the Lord reveal his face to you and take pity on you.
26May the Lord turn his countenance toward you and grant peace to you.’
The oldest blessing in continuous use in the Western world, and the best way to close. Three sentences, all in the second person, all said over somebody — not over an idea.
Read the chapter
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Bible verse to read at a wedding ceremony?
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is the most frequent choice and works well aloud, being short and concrete. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 is the best alternative when you want something less heard, and Numbers 6:24-26 is the classic way to close, as a blessing over the couple.
Which verse should I use on the invitation or the ring?
For small spaces, Song of Solomon 6:2 is the most used, followed by 1 Corinthians 13:13. Proverbs 18:22 also works if you take only its opening clause. All of them fit on one line and need no context to make sense to whoever receives the invitation.
Which verse should I use to write the vows?
Ruth 1:16-17 is the most adopted model, being a promise of loyalty spoken in the first person. Song of Solomon 8:7-8 works for more intense vows, and Colossians 3:12-14 serves when the couple want to promise practical things, like patience and forgiveness.
Does the Bible describe how a wedding ceremony should be?
No. Scripture records wedding feasts, such as Cana in John 2, but prescribes no rite, vows or liturgy. That is why the traditions differ: some churches treat marriage as a sacrament with a set form, while others hold the ceremony as a public covenant with a freer shape.
A prayer to take with you
Lord, bless these two who today say yes in front of everyone. May their love outlast what nobody can foresee, and may the home that starts today be a place of rest for whoever walks in. Keep the joy of this day in their memory. Amen.