12 Bible Verses for a Wedding Ceremony
Quick Summary
These twelve Bible verses are among the most meaningful and timeless readings used in Christian wedding ceremonies. Each passage speaks to love, covenant, faithfulness, and the steady presence of God in the life two people now share. They offer couples and officiants a curated, trustworthy set of Scriptures for moments of blessing, commitment, and celebration.
Introduction
A wedding ceremony gathers the language of Scripture around the promises two people make. Certain passages have carried couples for generations, words about love that endures, faith that steadies, and vows that lean on God’s grace. Whether used as the primary reading, woven into the homily, or included in the printed program, these verses give voice to the hope that God stands at the center of the covenant being formed.
I have attended and officiated at many weddings. The Scripture reading is a profound moment where we can center ourselves on the wisdom of our faith. This curated list of twelve passages speak beautifully and directly to the heart of Christian marriage. Each verse is presented in full from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and includes an outbound link to Biblia.com for reference.
1. 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a
“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
2. Ruth 1:16–17
“But Ruth said, ‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die — there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!’”
3. Genesis 2:18, 21–24
“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’ … So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man… And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. … Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
4. Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other. … Though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
5. Song of Solomon 8:6–7
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. … Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.”
6. Colossians 3:12–14
“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. … Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
7. Ephesians 4:1–3
“Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
8. Philippians 2:1–4
“Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.”
9. 1 John 4:7–12
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God… No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
10. Psalm 127:1
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”
11. Romans 12:9–12
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. … Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.”
12. John 15:12–13
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
