For couples planning a religious wedding, including bible verses and scripture about marriage in their ceremony is incredibly important. These sacred verses for marriage set the tone for not only your wedding day but your marriage too.

So how do you decide which scripture on marriage to include? Below we’re sharing 25 of our favourite wedding scriptures and bible quotes on marriage that would work perfectly for your wedding ceremony.

Not religious or worried about including a bible verse that doesn’t align with your beliefs? We get it. Check out our suggestions below for alternative verses, readings and quotes.

Do you have to include scripture on marriage in your wedding? 

Absolutely not! You can have a secular (non-religious) wedding with no mention of religion, scripture or the bible. You can have a religious wedding, but that religion doesn’t have to be Christianity. Or you could even have a religious, Christian wedding, but skip quoting the bible altogether.

We believe your ceremony should be done in your style, whether or not that includes religious verses about marriage. With a Young Hip & Married custom wedding ceremony, you can design your own ceremony and include a ton of religious references or none at all.

If you are getting married in a religious institution, double check what their ceremonies look like. Many will have formats in place that include scripture, but may be open to removing or tweaking it.

young hip and married wedding ceremony

How do you find scripture about marriage that aligns with your values? 

So you want to include a Christian quote for marriage in your wedding ceremony, but you don’t really want to hear about women submitting to men, how divorce is evil, or that marriage can only be between a man and a woman? We get that!

While many parts of the bible are not as inclusive as they should be, you can still find verses and scripture about love and marriage that align with your values. Case in point: None of the 25 bible verses below say anything about how weak women are or how immoral divorce is!

Seek out verses that feel good to you and represent what you believe about your partnership. Feel free to cut down passages or find versions that use words you’re comfortable with. You could also use a bible verse to inspire another prayer or reading, or work with an inclusive clergy member to help you find the right scripture.

Of course, you could skip the bible scripture for your wedding altogether and use a reading from somewhere else instead!

What about wedding prayers, readings or quotes? 

Besides biblical scripture, here are some other wedding prayers, readings and quotes you can use during your ceremony:

25 bible verses and scripture about marriage for your wedding ceremony

25 marriage scriptures for your wedding ceremony

1 Corinthians 13:2-7

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

PS: 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most popular bible vows for marriage, and for good reason! But if you want to do something a bit more unique, check out our alternatives to 1 Corinthians 13.

Romans 12:10

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Colossians 3:14-17

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Genesis 2:24

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Matthew 19:4-6

‘Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

bride and groom with hands on the bible at their religious wedding ceremony

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Song of Solomon 3:4

I have found the one whom my soul loves.

1 Corinthians 13:13

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Ecclesiastes 4:9

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.

1 Corinthians 16:14

Let all that you do be done in love.

Isaiah 62:5

For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

1 John 4:7-8

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Ephesians 4:2-3

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

holy bible scripture for wedding day

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 54:10

‘For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Proverbs 3:3-4

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Psalm 143:8

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you lift up my soul.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Psalm 85:10-11

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.

Song of Solomon 8:7

Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

bible on dock overlooking the water and sunset

Ruth 1:16-17

But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.’

1 John 4:16

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Proverbs 30:18-19

There are three things that amaze me—no, four things that I don’t understand: how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.

Jude 1:2

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Song of Solomon 6:3

I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine…

Which scripture on marriage do you want to use at your wedding? Let us know!

Whether you’re planning a religious wedding or a secular ceremony, a Young Hip & Married wedding officiant can help you get married in your own unique way. Get in touch for a custom quote!