29th Mar
Introducing Me and You Versus the World
Me and You Versus the World was first written as a contemporary wedding poem to celebrate the marriage of one of my best friends. It tells the story of two best friends who go on an adventure together, exploring the world.
Modern wedding reading about love, friendship and adventure
"Having a piece written by my best friend read at my wedding was the best gift we could have asked for. The story and memories have stayed with us over the years. We have the words in a frame on our bedroom wall, and receiving a copy of the words in print has been the cherry on top. Seeing our daughter now reading the book is too precious for words, I love hearing her read about the adventure of life and love. The story resonates across generations and hits everyone who reads it with warm and fuzzy feelings."
A few years later when I was looking for a modern wedding reading for my brother’s wedding, I shared this poem about love and friendship with him and his wife-to-be to see what they thought. As keen travellers, they loved the messaging and themes so (thankfully!) gave me the thumbs up to deliver this poem as a reading at their wedding.
Wedding reading or children’s book?
It was after revisiting the wedding poem that I wondered how it might work as a children’s book. Having worked with illustrator Sarah-Leigh Wills on another project through my PR agency, I contacted her to see if she could bring the story to life with her beautiful drawings. Thanks to her colourful and lively illustrations, the poem works as both a children’s story book and a wedding reading.
Poem for a wedding reading: Me and You Versus the World
If you’re looking for wedding reading ideas and like romantic modern poems or non-religious wedding readings, I hope you’d consider Me and You Versus the World.
"My wife and I came across this poem when planning our wedding last year. We both instantly connected with it, and knew we wanted it as one of our readings. It felt like the poem was written especially for us! My sister also got us a copy of the book as a wedding present which pairs the poem with amazing illustrations, it is a lovely reminder of our special day!"
Below is the full poem. If you’d like to buy the illustrated book of the contemporary wedding reading as a gift, you can buy it here.
Me and You Versus the World
By Claire Gamble
The world’s our oyster,
The universe our crab.
Let’s seize the day before us,
The adventure’s ours to grab.
Off on our voyage,
Deciding where to go.
Can you guess what will happen?
There’s only one way to know.
Follow my shadow,
As it wanders along,
Sits quietly in silence,
Dances to rhythm and song.
Let’s dive in the sea,
And find hidden treasure,
Swim with fishes and dolphins,
Float around at our leisure.
Fly high with eagles,
To the moon, stars and sun.
Look down there, it’s our planet,
Lots to see, it’s so much fun.
We’ll talk for hours,
And ask who, what, where, why.
Make sure we know the answers,
Speak the truth, we’ll tell no lie.
There might be monsters,
Scary ones who will hide,
But we’ll fight them together –
Invincible side by side.
It will pour and shine,
Then rainbows will appear.
The sky will fill with colour,
Contagious, fluorescent cheer.
If your teardrops fall,
I’ll kiss them all away.
Turn that sad frown upside down,
Silly smiles are here to stay.
And when the time comes
For you to leave and go,
Please leave a map or bread crumbs,
Which spell out and clearly show
The right direction,
So that I can follow
In your footsteps and join you
To restart this tomorrow.
No matter the time,
The place or the weather,
It’s me and you versus the world.
Always and forever.
