Come autumn and winter time we all get a little bit obsessed again with classic and vintage style weddings, and no era says it more than the Roaring 1920s, with its glamorous devil-may-care party scene and feathered, sparkly and super chic bridal fashion. Of course no author encapsulates the time more than F. Scott Fitzgerald, and this reading - which first came onto our radars a good few years ago, following Princess Eugenie's royal wedding - is such a classic. Despite the iconic book being one of the defining novels of the 1920s, it's also feels like a timeless choice, as the story is drenched in excess and debauchery. But there's no denying it's a great love story too, and this excerpt is a romantic choice, that would work for any wedding! The words are below and you can also download a handy printable of it here "He smiled understandingly - much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced - or seemed to face - the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point it vanished - and I was looking at an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself I’d got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care." Get lots more unique ideas for your ceremony readings here with our special categoriesExcerpt from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald


