Having a celebrant conduct your wedding ceremony is all about trying to make one of the biggest days of your life more personal to you. And if you’re a self-confessed bookworm like me, you might want to find ways to incorporate your favourite reads into your wedding.
If you’re a teacher, if you have a primary school-aged child, or if you’re friends with someone who does on Facebook, then you’ll probably know it’s World Book Day today, so in honour of this annual ordeal for parents up and down the country, I wanted to bring you five ways to incorporate books into your wedding ceremony, other than simply including readings from them.
1. Have your celebrant litter your ceremony with references
If there is a book that holds a special meaning for you as a couple, and you want it to be a part of your ceremony, then having a celebrant lead your celebrations is the perfect way to make this happen. I love a book recommendation, and if reading your favourite book means I can make your ceremony even better by adding in quotes and references, then I am 100% down for this.
2. Make some paper flowers using pages from books
If you’re feeling crafty and you have some spare time, this is a really unusual and beautiful way to include books in your wedding. Whether you use those paper flowers for decor, or you go the whole hog and make your bouquet out of them, it’ll be so personal to you and really get people talking. I made paper roses for table decorations out of pages of my favourite Shakespeare play for me (nerd) and maps for my other half.
3. Use books for your wedding ceremony backdrop
I’ve seen aisles lined with vintage books, bunting made out of book pages, stacks of books for centrepieces, books as wedding favours (please invite me to this wedding) and book-themed table names. But my absolute favourite and ultimate show-stopper for a pair of bookworms: a ceremony arch made out of books. I won’t lie, I've only seen this online but now I’m obsessed. I have no idea how you’d actually make it and ensure that it didn’t topple over mid-ceremony, but if one of my couples could please give this a go, that would be incredible, thank you.
4. Make confetti out of book pages
Now this is absolutely one to check with your venue first. A lot of venues will only allow biodegradable confetti, and for good reason. However if you’re definitely doing your confetti run indoors, and your venue doesn't mind sweeping up, using the pages of your favourite book for your confetti is a beautiful way to include it in your ceremony. Get some beaten up books from a charity shop, buy a heart-shaped stamp or grab a pair of scissors and start cutting!
5. Get married in a library!
Now if you really like books and you’re really dedicated to the theme, why not get married in a library? There are some incredible book-lined rooms available to say “I do” in up and down the country; my favourites in Manchester are The Portico Library (pictured above and at the top by the wonderful Maddie Farris Photography), The Study in Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, and Cheatham’s Library.
And there you have it: five easy (and not so easy) ways of encorporating books into your wedding ceremony and the rest of your big day. But there are so many ways to make your wedding day as personal as possible to you; your imagination and creativity really is the limit. If you want to find out more about how I can help you to make your wedding ceremony as unique as you are, send me an email on hello@witandwonder.co.uk or click below to get in touch!
Connie is an independent celebrant based in Manchester and Cheshire, working across the North West and beyond. She creates fun, meaningful and highly personalised ceremonies for couples and families who want to celebrate life’s biggest moments in their own way.
