Planning a Wedding Ceremony: Choosing Songs + Scripture
Most people are not familiar with planning a wedding ceremony. It can feel like a daunting task because it’s the most important element of the wedding day!
As a Christian, I believe that the marriage covenant is a promise “until death do us part.” It’s the crux of not only the wedding day, but a lifetime of committing to love one another. I also believe that marriage is too hard to navigate without God. The Bible gives us so much encouragement, challenge and practical wisdom for life! So here are some wedding ceremony scriptures and songs to ground your marriage in the truth that Jesus is better, the ultimate prize and worth pursuing together.
Ceremony Song Suggestions
Songs have a way of uniting people. Have you ever just stopped singing during a congregational song at church and listened to those around you, lifting their voices? It’s a really beautiful sound that ascends to heaven. In the same way, singing together at a wedding ceremony has a way of putting everyone on the same page and reminding them why they attended. It’s to encourage you and your groom in this new phase of life, and to sing truth over you. Here are some time-tested hymns that tell of the glory of Christ:
Ceremony Scripture Suggestions
Just as songs are important, scripture is the very Word of God. The Bible is life, breath and being for the Christian and there’s no better thing to set your hope, focus and marriage on as you begin life together.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
“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.”
Ephesians 5:23-34
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansingOr “having cleansed” her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church- for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Genesis 2:24
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
1 Peter 3:7
“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
I hope this serves as a helpful starting point for planning a wedding ceremony. For other suggestions, follow along with me as I continue to develop my ceremony playlist! Click here to get my ceremony playlist! And head over to my blog for more info regarding weddings, photography, and other tips for brides.
