Readings · Poetry
Bridal Song
Comforts lasting, loves increasing,
Like soft hours never ceasing:
Plenty’s pleasure, peace complying,
Without jars, or tongues envying;
Hearts by holy union wedded,
More than theirs by custom bedded;
Fruitful issues; life so graced,
Not by age to be defaced,
Budding, as the year ensu’th,
Every spring another youth:
All what thought can add beside
Crown this bridegroom and this bride!
Where it fits in the ceremony
Blessings belong near the end: just before the couple are pronounced married, as the closing words of the ceremony, or at the reception as a grace before the meal or the opening of the toasts.
Pair it with
Two readings that balance this one, one sacred and one secular:
- Psalm 67 — “God be merciful unto us, and bless us” — a harvest psalm of blessing.
- Colossians 3:15–17 — “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts … and be ye thankful.”