The concept of wedding is so intricately entwined with religion that it may be quite daunting to even think about writing a non-religious wedding script. It does not matter which religion you follow, as far as weddings are concerned, religion will be a part of the ceremony.

But that does not mean that you have to involve religion in your ceremony. We are not suggesting that you write your own wedding script. That would be an unnecessary burden on top of the rest of the preparation that you have to do. But you may give the officiant some tips so that you can have a non-religious wedding script without much of a hassle.

Kylee Paige Photography 

Your Ultimate Guide to Creating a Non-Religious Wedding Script

The first the foremost thing to keep in mind for a non-religious wedding script is to inform the officiant well in advance that you do not want the religion element to be present for the wedding ceremony.

It may be an unusual request because a wedding ceremony with no hint of religious preaching does look different from the normal conventional ceremonies. However, you can always give the officiant some pointers which will help him in modifying the script to make it non-religious.

Steps to Take Before Writing a Non-Religious Wedding Script

Before you start penning down a non-religious wedding script, it is important to consider the overall theme or aesthetic of the wedding. You wouldn’t want your wedding script to clash with the rest of the theme, would you? You should always be a hundred percent sure that your officiant is aware about your wishes of having a non-religious wedding script.

You can even check out the script that your officiant is going to read well in advance so that you can be sure that he sends the kind of message that you and your partner believe in. For your convenience, we have listed out a step by step guide to writing a non-religious wedding script:

Step 1: Consider you and your partner’s values

Make sure that the message you convey through the wedding script is in tune with the core beliefs and values of both you and your partner without having it focus on the religious preaching.

If you and your partner are handling different aspects of the wedding preparation, you can just frame the wedding script and have your partner go through it and approve it before giving it to the officiant.

Step 2: Consider the experiences you as a couple have shared together

A wedding script can give a lot of insight into the couple’s life and their choices. Take into consideration all the life’s experiences you have shared, the good ones which you fondly remember as well as the bad ones which have made you wiser.

Step 3: Find the overarching theme of you and your partner’s relationship

Writing a non-religious wedding script can be made easier if you can pinpoint an overarching theme of your relationship with your partner. It is a beautiful thing to be in love but you can put something even more precious in the wedding script such as your trust in each other, your commitment or even your surety of a beautiful future.

Step 4: Write a love letter to each other

This will help pin down those exact feelings and emotions that you and your partner feel for each other

If you are facing a writers’ block in putting your feelings into words for a non-religious wedding script, then try the love letter writing first which is sure to get your emotions flowing.

Adam Kennedy Photography

Step 5: Scour the internet or your favorite books and movies for love quotes/poems that you and your partner both appreciate

To find content for a perfect wedding script, you can get inspiration from your favorite movies, books or poems that is sure to make you nostalgic and even happier to hear your favorite words read aloud at the wedding.

Step 6: Ask others who know you and your partner well about their thoughts about you two for inspiration

Sometimes your closest friends and relatives can give you startling insights about life when they tell you about what they think when they see you and your partner together. Can there be a better way to get inspiration for your non-religious wedding script?

Step 7: Read through other non-religious wedding scripts (again, for inspiration!)

To give a structure to your non-religious wedding script, just read through other couples’ wedding scripts to give that final touch to your own write-up. You can check the article on the below link to get some ideas about how to frame the perfect non-religious wedding script.

Al & Lyndsey Photography

Non-Religious Wedding Script Templates

To make it even more convenient for you to have the perfect non-religious wedding script in as short a time as possible, we have come up with some common templates that you can use.

Bear in mind that these templates need to be filled out only to the extent that they act as a guide for the officiant since the official wedding script will have to be written by the officiant himself.

Template/Ceremony Timeline #1

• Introduction

You can convey to the Officiant whether you want him to say anything before the wedding ceremony starts i.e. while the guests are arriving and getting seated.

• Welcome

Many couples like to extend their gratitude to their guests for travelling from afar to attend the wedding. Giving your officiant a couple of tips to give a welcome address may be a good idea.

• Honor Relatives

Although the majority of the attention of the party is on the couple, this is also a good time to show how much you care for and honour your parents, siblings, or any other relative.

• Reading

The officiant can be requested to read out any kind of pre-chosen quotation, poem, or anything else that the couple wants to share with the wedding guests.

• Vows

You can write your own wedding vows beforehand and read them out for each other. Alternatively, you can ask the officiant to guide you through the vows by repeating after him.

• Ring Exchange

This can again be customized to simply exchanging rings or to having the Officiant formally direct you to place the ring on each other’s’ fingers.

• Pronouncement & Kiss

Then you can proceed further with your wedding ceremony.

Template/Ceremony Timeline #2

• Introduction

The Officiant can be requested to address the seated guests before the bride enters. This is a good time to thank them all for attending the wedding as also to say any special words in honour of a close relative or friend.

• Love Story

Before exchanging vows, it will be really romantic to have your love story told by Officiant to the wedding party, many of whom may not be aware of how you met and fell in love. Give a brief outline of your story to the officiant for this part of the ceremony.

• Reading

Choose an inspiring quotation from a book or movie that was a huge part of your relationship to be read out as part of the non-religious wedding script.

• Vows

You can write your own vows or you can go with the traditional vows that the officiant will guide you through.

• Unity Candle / Unity Sand Ceremony

You can go for lighting a unity candle or pouring unity sand into a glass vase that symbolizes the joining together of two people as one.

• Ring Exchange

Slip the wedding bands on to each other’s fingers!

• Pronouncement & Kiss

This is the fun part!  

Conclusion

We are sure that with the help of the above tips and templates, you will have no problem at all in coming up with a non-religious wedding script that is perfect in every way that you want. A wedding is something that you hope to have only once in your lifetime and you would want to convey your true beliefs and emotions on this very special day.

Wedding scripts play a major role in this which is why you must play close attention to what you want the officiant to say during the wedding ceremony. If you liked our suggestions, do let us know through your comments below.