If Thou Must Love Me

If you're looking for something a little lyrical for your wedding ceremony, then the poem If Thou Must Love Me by Elizabeth Barrett Browning could be the one. Although written in the mid-1800s, it's a love poem that has remained timeless and is short enough for any wedding ceremony. We all deserve to be loved for who we are and not how we look, and it just turns out that's nothing new and Elizabeth just said it first. (Hear hear!) If this is the one for you we have a free printable copy, and a jpeg down below for you to get on your Pinterest board.

If Thou Must Love Me

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love’s sake only. Do not say,
“I love her for her smile—her look—her way
Of speaking gently,—for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day”—
For these things in themselves, Belovèd, may
Be changed, or change for thee—and love, so wrought,
Maybe unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity’s wiping my cheeks dry:
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love’s sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love’s eternity.

Feeling like If Thou Must Love Me is the one? Then we have the free printable copy above. If you're looking for a different poem we have a roundup of our favourites, or even some romantic love songs that make great wedding readings! If you're having a religious wedding ceremony we also have the best bible readings for a modern church wedding.