Wedding Quotes: Over 100 of the Most Beautiful Love Quotes to Say 'I Do'

Wedding quotes: 100+ of the most beautiful love & marriage quotes to say "I do"

A beautiful marriage quote can transform an invitation, open a speech or seal your vows. The trick is finding the one that feels like you. To save you hours of searching, we've gathered here more than 100 quotes about marriage and love: the timeless classics, the shortest, the funniest, the most tender, and even a few in the words of the great English writers. Each quote is sorted by use and by theme, with tips on how to choose and personalise it.

In short: a great quote is short, sincere and true to your story. The timeless ones come from Victor Hugo, George Sand, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry or Balzac. For an invitation, keep it under fifteen words. For a speech, you can go for something longer and more personal.

The most beautiful marriage quotes

Quotes that outlast the ages have one thing in common: they say a lot in very few words. Here are the essentials, signed by the greatest authors.

• "Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

• "Marriage is a life within a life." — Honoré de Balzac

• "There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved." — George Sand

• "Marriage is the will of two to create the one." — Friedrich Nietzsche

• "Marriage is such a beautiful thing that one should think about it all one's life." — Talleyrand

• "Marriage is the most beautiful and the safest state in the world." — Marguerite de Navarre

• "Marriage should be an indissoluble bond of eternal friendship." — Samuel Johnson

• "Where there is love there is life." — Gandhi

• "However much one may reproach marriage, one cannot deny it is an experience." — Oscar Wilde

• "The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved." — Victor Hugo

• "The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of." — Blaise Pascal

• "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the soul." — William Shakespeare

• "Everything is beautiful in the eyes of love." — Plato

• "One person is missing, and everything feels empty." — Alphonse de Lamartine

• "To love or to have loved is enough. Ask nothing further." — Victor Hugo

Love quotes for a wedding

A wedding celebrates love above all. These quotes put feeling front and centre — perfect for a couple who wants to say what matters most.

• "True love is eternal, infinite, and forever like itself." — Honoré de Balzac

• "The measure of love is to love without measure." — Saint Augustine

• "To love is to act." — Victor Hugo

• "Love is physics; marriage is chemistry." — attributed to Alexandre Dumas fils

• "Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." — Marcel Proust

• "True love never wears out: the more you give, the more you have." — Saint Augustine

• "Love possesses not nor would it be possessed, for love is sufficient unto love." — Kahlil Gibran

• "To live without loving is not really to live." — Molière

• "A dream without love is a forgotten dream." — Paul Éluard

• "To love is to know how to say 'I love you' without speaking." — attributed to Paul Éluard

• "To love is to find your wealth outside yourself." — Alain

• "Being deeply loved gives you strength; loving deeply gives you courage." — Lao Tzu

• "If you want to be loved, love." — Seneca

• "Wherever you go, go with all your heart." — Confucius

• "Love is the poetry of the senses." — Honoré de Balzac

• "One cannot do without loving." — Alfred de Musset

• "Love is a certain something, that comes from who-knows-where, and ends who-knows-how." — attributed to Madeleine de Scudéry

• "No disguise can long conceal love where it exists, nor feign it where it does not." — La Rochefoucauld

• "To love is nothing; to be loved is something; to love and be loved is everything." — anonymous

Short wedding quotes (perfect for invitations)

On an invitation, every word counts and space is tight. These short lines read in a second and go straight to the heart.

• "To love is to act." — Victor Hugo

• "Where there is love there is life." — Gandhi

• "To live is to love." — proverb

• "Two hearts, one promise." — anonymous

• "To us, forever." — anonymous

• "Marriage is a life within a life." — Honoré de Balzac

• "Loved, loving, united." — anonymous

• "Love doesn't count the years." — proverb

• "A dream without love is a forgotten dream." — Paul Éluard

• "If you want to be loved, love." — Seneca

• "Everything is beautiful in the eyes of love." — Plato

• "To be loved, be lovable." — Ovid

• "To be with those we love is enough." — La Bruyère

• "The heart always has its reasons." — proverb

Tip: for an invitation, aim for fewer than fifteen words. Beyond that, the quote overshadows the essential details (date, venue, RSVP).

Funny wedding quotes

A touch of wit lightens the mood, especially to open a speech. Handle it with tenderness: humour should make the couple smile, never wince.

• "A good marriage would be one between a blind wife and a deaf husband." — Michel de Montaigne

• "A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband; a man never worries about the future until he gets a wife." — George Bernard Shaw

• "Marriage is the only adventure open to the coward." — Voltaire

• "However much one may reproach marriage, one cannot deny it is an experience." — Oscar Wilde

• "Marriage is a dinner that begins with dessert." — attributed to Henri Rochefort

• "There are good marriages, but no delightful ones." — La Rochefoucauld

• "The chains of marriage are so heavy that it takes two to carry them — sometimes three." — Alexandre Dumas fils

• "Love, love, when you hold us, we may well say: farewell prudence." — Jean de La Fontaine

• "Marriage is the art of two people living together as happily as they would have lived apart." — attributed to Tristan Bernard

• "Love is blind, but marriage restores its sight." — proverb

Quotes about life together and happiness

The big day marks the start of a shared adventure. These quotes speak of closeness, of lasting, of happiness shared.

• "There is but one happiness in the world: love; all the rest is nothing." — George Sand

• "Happiness is the only thing that doubles when you share it." — Albert Schweitzer

• "Perhaps happiness is only a contrast, but there is a host of small joys enough to perfume a life." — Alphonse Karr

• "There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path." — proverb

• "To find your joy in the joy of another — that is the secret of happiness." — Georges Bernanos

• "Beauty is but the promise of happiness." — Stendhal

Quotes about eternal love

For couples who want to set their union in the long run, these quotes evoke the promise of a love that lasts.

• "True love is eternal, infinite, and forever like itself." — Honoré de Balzac

• "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

• "Love is eternal as long as it lasts." — proverb

• "Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

• "Great souls always find one another." — Emily Brontë (Wuthering Heights)

• "Love is the emblem of eternity: it confounds all notion of time." — Madame de Staël

• "Love is the only passion that pays itself in a coin of its own making." — Stendhal

Proverbs about marriage and love

Proverbs have the advantage of being universal, free of rights and often full of folk wisdom. A real plus if you're after something original.

• "Love makes time pass, and time makes love pass." — French proverb

• "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." — proverb (lovely to reframe for a couple)

• "An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet." — Chinese proverb

• "Alone we go faster, together we go further." — African proverb

• "Love and friendship exclude each other no more than warmth and light." — proverb

Timeless quotes from English literature

A quote from a great English writer brings an elegant, timeless touch — very popular on modern invitations. Here are public-domain classics.

• "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds." — William Shakespeare

• "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." — Emily Brontë

• "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." — Robert Browning

• "Two are better than one." — Ecclesiastes

• "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." — Elizabeth Barrett Browning

• "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind." — William Shakespeare

• "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." — William Shakespeare

• "There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart." — Jane Austen

Good to know: keep it short here too. A line from Shakespeare loses its charm if it runs too long.

Wedding anniversary quotes

Cotton, wood, gold… every wedding anniversary deserves a lovely word. These quotes are perfect for a card or a toast.

• "The best is yet to be." — after Robert Browning

• "Love doesn't count the years — it celebrates them." — anonymous

• "To grow old together is to love twice." — anonymous

• "A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short." — André Maurois

• "Every year spent together is a victory of love over time." — anonymous

• "Love doesn't grow old — it changes season." — anonymous

• "It's not the time that counts, but the love you put into it." — anonymous

Drawing inspiration from a film or a song

Many couples have a film or a song that tells a little of their story. And to capture all its magic, there's no need to copy out every word: it's often stronger — and more elegant — to simply evoke it. A few ideas:

• Name the title rather than the text. On an invitation: "Our film: [title]" or "Our song: [title — artist]". In a single line, the emotion is there.

• Bring it to life on the day: first dance, the couple's entrance, the ceremony… A song that fills the room stays with people far more than a printed line.

• Rewrite it in your own words, the idea that moves you. A personal line will always beat a borrowed one.

Romantic films to draw inspiration from

Evoke the film and the scene that moves you. Here are the great classics of romantic cinema, to name by their title:

• Pride and Prejudice — the declaration at dawn, the pinnacle of thwarted romance.

• Titanic — the promise never to let go, hand in hand.

• The Notebook — a love that spans a whole lifetime, to the very end.

• Love Actually — the silent declaration on cue cards, now iconic for proposals.

• Amélie — the poetry of small gestures and unlikely encounters.

• La La Land — love, dreams, and what we choose to make of them.

• Notting Hill — when an ordinary person simply asks to be loved.

On your invitation, a line like "Our story? A little like The Notebook" conjures a whole world in just a few words.

Which quote for an invitation, vows, a speech or thank-you notes?

The same quote doesn't work everywhere. Here's how to match your choice to the format.

For a wedding invitation

Go for a short, luminous line that announces love without stealing the spotlight from the practical details.

• "To love is to act." — Victor Hugo

• "Marriage is a life within a life." — Honoré de Balzac

• "Where there is love there is life." — Gandhi

For wedding vows

Here, you can go for a longer, more intimate quote, at the opening or the close, before your own words.

• "Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

• "There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved." — George Sand

For a wedding speech

A funny or striking quote to open grabs attention, then you move into the anecdote.

• "Marriage is the only adventure open to the coward." — Voltaire

• "A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short." — André Maurois

For thank-you notes

Choose a quote about gratitude and sharing, echoing the presence of your loved ones.

• "Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy…" — Marcel Proust

• "Happiness is the only thing that doubles when you share it." — Albert Schweitzer

How to choose the right quote

A quote lands when it feels like you. Before settling on yours, ask these three questions:

1. Does it feel like us? An impersonal line rings hollow. Choose one that echoes your own story.

2. Is it understood in a few seconds? Your guests should catch the emotion instantly, without reading it three times.

3. Does it fit the tone of your wedding? A solemn quote clashes with a relaxed, boho wedding — and vice versa.

The most common mistakes to avoid: a quote that's too long, negative or ambiguous, poorly attributed (always check the author), or out of step with your world. When in doubt, a short and sincere line always beats a fine borrowed phrase.

Keeping the emotion alive on the big day

A quote sets the tone; the entertainment brings it to life. On the wedding day, it's the laughter, the words from your guests and the spontaneous snapshots that carry those beautiful lines long after the ceremony.

With Livenly, you can do exactly that — liven up and capture your day: a digital photo booth to catch every smile, a connected guest book where everyone leaves their message, and games designed to bring your loved ones together around your story. The most beautiful quote, in the end, is the one your guests will write for you.

Discover Livenly wedding games →

Found the perfect quote? All that's left is to imagine a day that's truly you. Discover all our ideas to plan and liven up your wedding on Livenly.