17 African American Wedding Readings That'll Put You in the Mood for Love

Finding the best way to describe your love for your partner or the beauty of the newlyweds' relationship can be hard. Whether you want to honor your Black heritage or appreciate Black culture, we think reciting the words from famous Black authors at your wedding is a great idea. Luckily for you, the meaningful African American wedding readings we've included below are some of our favorite wedding readings (religious and non-religious) that can fit any celebration. From the beloved Toni Morrison to the up-and-coming Amanda Gorman, we've collected poems and quotes from Black authors that'll engage and inspire everyone in attendance. (Psst. These compelling selections can be used all year round, not just for Black History Month.)

1. All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

In All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks focuses on love in modern society and how it impacts every facet of human life. This is one of our favorite African American wedding readings because it's lighthearted and concise.

"To truly love we must learn to mix various ingredients––care, affection, recognition, respect, commitment, and trust, as well as honest and open communication."

2. All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living by Morgan Harper Nichols

All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living has African American love poems and much more in this illustrative and enchanting body of work.

"Even when there are a thousand things to do, cherish these unrushed moments. Make room in your heart for them. There will be many mountains to climb, but always make time to find the pastures where you can rest."

3. "And I Have You" by Nikki Giovanni

As one of the world's most renowned poets, Nikki Giovanni never ceases to tingle the senses and leave the reader with a better understanding of the world. If you're looking for love poems by Black poets for your wedding, this sweet piece by Giovanni is for you.

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"Rain has drops/ Sun has shine/ Moon has beams/ That makes you mine/ Rivers have banks/ Sands for shores/ Hearts have heartbeats/ That make me yours/ Needles have eyes/ Though pins may prick/ Elmer has glue/ To make things stick/ Winter has Spring/ Stockings feet/ Pepper has mint/ To make it sweet/ Teachers have lessons/ Soup du jour/ Lawyers sue bad folks/ Doctors cure/ All and all/ This much is true/ You have me/ And I have you."

4. "Beauty That is Never Old" by James Weldon Johnson

Celebrate your love for Black history by having an African American wedding reading by James Weldon Johnson. An executive secretary for the NAACP, lawyer, Harlem Renaissance icon and writer of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (which is referred to as "The Black National Anthem"), Johnson represents Black excellence in every way.

"When buffeted and beaten by life's storms,/ When by the bitter cares of life oppressed,/ I want no surer haven than your arms,/ I want no sweeter heaven than your breast./ When over my life's way there falls the blight/ Of sunless days, and nights of starless skies;/ Enough for me, the calm and steadfast light/ That softly shines within your loving eyes./ The world, for me, and all the world can hold/ Is circled by your arms; for me there lies,/ Within the lights and shadows of your eyes,/ The only beauty that is never old."

5. "black love" by Evie Shockley

Evie Shockley is an American poet who's received numerous awards such as The 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry for the new black and the 2012 Holmes National Poetry Prize. Shockley was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2018. This work by Shockley is one of our favorite poems about love by Black poets.

"my love is black though my love is not black/ think the darkness cradling the milky way/ imagine quick light flowing down the back of my throat, glowing—i swallow the day/ my love is black, an absorbing array of colors/ gold yolk escaping the cracked shell/ a shiny silver moon-coin to play/ a juicy peach, plump plums, cup of cognac/ my love is black, the only way i know to live/ now fierce and demanding, now free and unpossessed/ so for my magnet, my love becomes steel, then, for my butterfly, will not a flower but a whole field be/ my love and my blackness together go—"

6. Excerpt from "The Hill We Climb" by Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman made history by being the youngest inaugural poet at 22 years old. Even though the poem focuses on unity despite racial injustices, the excerpt below highlights being strong and courageous, which can be a perfect reminder before starting your new journey with your life partner.

"When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid./ The new dawn blooms as we free it./ For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it./ If only we're brave enough to be it."

7. Feeding the Soul (Because It's My Business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom by Tabitha Brown

Tabitha Brown, an author, motivational speaker, social media personality, and actress, is inspirational in her first book. If you want a touch of spirituality in your ceremony, consider thinking of the selection below as one of the top African American blessing quotes to use.

"We are creatures of love. God gave us a heart. A heart is designed to love. So our natural ability is to love. And part of loving ourselves and those around us is being willing to forgive and be forgiven."

8. "Invitation to Love" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar is deemed one of the first influential Black writers. He has created an extensive collection of novels, poems, short stories and essays that are highly acclaimed. Dunbar's African American love poem would make for a captivating ceremony reading or be perfect for a private vow exchange.

"Come when the nights are bright with stars/ Or come when the moon is mellow;/ Come when the sun his golden bars/ Drops on the hay-field yellow./ Come in the twilight soft and gray,/ Come in the night or come in the day,/ Come, O love, whene'er you may,/ And you are welcome, welcome./ You are sweet, O Love, dear Love,/ You are soft as the nesting dove./ Come to my heart and bring it to rest/ As the bird flies home to its welcome nest./ Come when my heart is full of grief/ Or when my heart is merry;/ Come with the falling of the leaf/ Or with the redd'ning cherry./ Come when the year's first blossom blows,/ Come when the summer gleams and glows,/ Come with the winter's drifting snows,/ And you are welcome, welcome."

9. Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson

Even though she's known for her portrayals of strong Black women, Cicely Tyson is more than an actress. In her autobiography, Just as I Am, Tyson speaks about every identity she has possessed throughout her life and, of course, love.

"To be seen in this life, truly observed without judgment, is what it feels like to be loved."

10. "My Loves" by Langston Hughes

Considered one of the innovators of jazz poetry and leaders of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes changed the fabric of Black literature forever. His descriptions of the highs and lows of Black life were criticized and appreciated. If having love poems by Black poets is a must at your wedding, you need to save the poem below.

"I love to see the big white moon,/ A-shining in the sky;/ I love to see the little stars,/ When the shadow clouds go by./ I love the rain drops falling/ On my rooftop in the night;/ I love the soft wind's sighing,/ Before the dawn's gray light./ I love the deepness of the blue,/ In my Lord's heaven above;/ But better than all these things I think,/ I love my lady love."

11. Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

In Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son, a collection of essays, James Baldwin spotlights numerous topics such as segregation and identity. In one of the many powerful statements from the book, Baldwin speaks about love and how it's hard work.

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle; love is a war; love is a growing up."

12. Paradise by Toni Morrison

As the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Pulitzer Prize winner, Toni Morrison accomplished a lot during her career. The piece below comes from the last of the Beloved trilogy and addresses how complicated love really is.

"Love is divine only and difficult always. If you think it is easy, you are a fool. If you think it is natural, you are blind. It is a learned application without reason or motive, except that it is God. You do not deserve love regardless of the suffering you have endured. You do not deserve love because somebody did you wrong. You do not deserve love just because you want it. You can only earn––by practice and careful contemplations––the right to express it, and you have to learn how to accept it."

13. Revolutionary Petunias by Alice Walker

Alice Walker, known for her amazing work, The Color Purple, wrote this timeless poetry collection nine years before. The book looks at trust, hope and love in the time of revolution. For those who want a simple yet soulful African American love poem, this is for you.

"I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart."

14. "The Beauty of Union" by George the Poet

George Mpanga, known as George the Poet, is a Black British spoken word performer, so he isn't African American, but we still think his work needs to be on the list. Because of his eloquent way of speaking on world issues, he gained enough notoriety to introduce the coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding. The 154-word poem he read at the St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the nuptial event is below.

"There's an indescribable beauty in union/ In two beings forming one new being/ Entering each other's world/ Surrendering each other's selves/ Accepting the invitation to be everything to someone else/ There's an unparalleled bravery in union/ In telling the one you love:/ 'The only way that we can truly win/ Is if I think of you in everything I do/ And honor every decision you faithfully include me in.'/ Love gives union true meaning/ It illuminates the path/ It wants us to compromise, communicate and laugh/ It wants us to elevate, appreciate without pride/ Love is oblivious to the outside/ Even with an audience of millions/ Even when that love bears immortal significance/ All of this is met with cordial indifference/ By the two people at the heart of it/ Two individuals when they started it/ Becoming two halves of one partnership/ Such is the beauty of union/ Such is the beauty of union."

15. "Touched By An Angel" by Maya Angelou

You can't go wrong with an African American wedding reading by Maya Angelou. Thought of as one of the greatest American writers of all time, Angelou has become the first Black woman featured on the US quarter and was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010. Make a big impact at your ceremony or reception with this powerful love poem.

"We, unaccustomed to courage/ exiles from delight/ live coiled in shells of loneliness/ until love leaves its high holy temple/ and comes into our sight/ to liberate us into life./ Love arrives/ and in its train come ecstasies/

old memories of pleasure/ ancient histories of pain./ Yet if we are bold,

love strikes away the chains of fear/ from our souls./ We are weaned from our timidity/ In the flush of love's light/ we dare be brave/ And suddenly we see/ that love costs all we are/ and will ever be./ Yet it is only love/ which sets us free."

16. Unknown Source attributed to Zora Neale Hurston

Famous writer, folklorist and anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston was also associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Even though she wasn't fully appreciated for her accomplishments during her lifetime, many readers know and love her work today. Many literary historians attribute this love quote to Hurston, but its physical origin is unknown.

"Love makes you go all in. Love makes you voluntarily stupid. Love robs you of the humor you use to protect yourself and leaves you speechless. Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place. And then it strips you down and leaves you fully nude for all to see."

17. "Wedding Poem" by Ross Gay

Ross Gay is a celebrated poet and essayist and a winner of the Kingsley Tufts Award and a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Books Critics Circle Award. Gay dedicated this heartwarming poem to loved ones, Keith and Jen.

"Friends I am here to modestly report/ seeing in an orchard/ in my town/ a goldfinch kissing/ a sunflower/ again and again/ dangling upside down/ by its tiny claws/ steadying itself by snapping open/ like an old-timey fan/ its wings/ again and again, until, swooning, it tumbled off/ and swooped back to the very same perch,/ where the sunflower curled its giant/ swirling of seeds/ around the bird and leaned back/ to admire the soft wind/ nudging the bird's plumage,/ and friends I could see/ the points on the flower's stately crown/ soften and curl inward/ as it almost indiscernibly lifted/ the food of its body/ to the bird's nuzzling mouth/ whose fervor/ I could hear from/ oh 20 or 30 feet away/ and see from the tiny hulls/ that sailed from their/ good racket, which good racket, I have to say/ was making me blush, and rock up on my tippy-toes,/ and just barely purse my lips/ with what I realize now/ was being, simply, glad,/ which such love,/ if we let it,/ makes us feel."