Romantic Quotes Part II

Not every great line about love and marriage came from a poet or a playwright. Some of the sharpest, warmest, funniest words on the subject came from journalists, comedians, prime ministers, and the occasional Hollywood actress with better one-liners than most professional writers. This second collection leans into that range deliberately: quotes with wit, honesty, and a bit of mischief, better suited to a best man's toast, a parent's speech, or a wedding program with a sense of humour than to a solemn vow exchange.

Where a literary reading during the ceremony calls for reverence, a good toast calls for something that makes a room laugh before it makes them tear up. These quotes are built for exactly that moment.

For the Best Man or Maid of Honour's Toast

"My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me." Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, statesman and journalist (1874-1965)

Nothing undercuts a toast's tone better than a self-deprecating line from someone as famously self-assured as Churchill. This works particularly well when the best man wants to open with something light before getting into the more sentimental part of the speech.

"Love: The irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired." Mark Twain, American writer and humourist (1835-1910)

Twain's gift was saying something true in a way that sounds like a joke until you actually think about it. This line lands well read aloud, with a small pause before the punchline settles.

"Try praising your wife, even if it does frighten her at first." Billy Sunday, American baseball star and evangelist (1862-1935)

A groomsman's toast that includes some gentle ribbing about the groom's growth as a partner finds a natural home for this line, especially if the couple has been together long enough for a few in-jokes about who's changed more since they met.

For Parents' Speeches

"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." Anonymous

A parent's speech often carries more weight than any other toast of the evening, precisely because it comes from someone who's known the couple, or at least their child, for a lifetime. This line works well woven into reflections on watching a child grow into a partner worth marrying, imperfections included.

"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." Franklin P. Jones, American publisher and humourist (1908-1980)

A gentler, more grounded sentiment than the grander romantic quotes, well suited to a parent acknowledging that marriage isn't about perfection or constant happiness, but about having someone alongside you for whatever the ride actually brings.

"Love cures people, both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it." Dr. Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist (1893-1990)

A quietly profound line for a parent who wants to speak to how their child has changed, or grown steadier, since meeting their partner.

For a Program, Table Card, or Guest Book Prompt

"Love is a friendship set to music." Attributed to E. Joseph Cossman, American entrepreneur

Short, warm, and universally applicable regardless of the couple's specific story, this line reads beautifully on a program cover or as a heading over a guest book page.

"Love without reason lasts the longest." Anonymous

A slightly unusual, thought-provoking line for couples who want their stationery to feel a little different from the standard romantic quote roundup. It rewards a second read.

"At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet." Plato, Classical Greek philosopher (428-348 BC)

Reaching back over two thousand years for a quote gives a wedding program an unexpected weight, and this particular line about love making poets of us all fits naturally alongside any handwritten vows or love notes displayed at the reception.

For the Couple Who Wants to Laugh at Themselves

"I married the first man I ever kissed. When I tell this to my children, they just about throw up." Barbara Bush, wife of the 41st President of the United States, George Bush

A lighthearted, self-aware line, perfect for a couple whose own love story includes an early, decisive certainty that their own kids might one day find equally embarrassing.

"There is a place you can touch a woman that will drive her crazy. Her heart." Melanie Griffith, American actress, from the film Milk Money

A cheeky line that works best delivered by a confident speaker who can land the slightly risqué setup without it landing awkwardly. Best used sparingly, and only if it matches the tone of the couple and crowd.

"People shop for a bathing suit with more care than they do a husband or wife. The rules are the same. Look for something you'll feel comfortable wearing. Allow for room to grow." Erma Bombeck, American humourist and columnist (1927-1996)

One of the funniest, most quietly wise lines in this whole collection. It works beautifully in a toast that wants to acknowledge, honestly, that choosing a life partner is as practical a decision as it is a romantic one.

For a Quieter, More Reflective Moment

"True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked." Erich Segal, American author and screenwriter (1937-2010)

A gently funny but genuinely tender line, good for a speech that wants to push back against the idea that love has to announce itself dramatically to be real.

"Love: Two minds without a single thought." Philip Barry, American playwright (1896-1949)

A wry, compact observation about how comfortable a long relationship can become, well suited to a toast from a sibling or close friend who's watched the couple's relationship mature over years.

"The Eskimos have 52 words for snow because it is so special to them; there ought to be as many for love." Margaret Atwood, Canadian author and poet

A thoughtful closing line for any speech, pointing out, gently, that the English language never quite gave us enough vocabulary to describe something as varied and complicated as love actually is.

Choosing the Right Quote for the Right Speaker

The quotes above are grouped by moment because tone matters enormously in a wedding speech, and mismatching a quote to a speaker or moment is one of the easiest ways for a good line to fall flat. A parent quoting Melanie Griffith's slightly risqué line about hearts would read very differently than a best man delivering the same line, and neither reading is automatically wrong, but it's worth thinking through before committing to it on the day. As a general rule, the more formal or sentimental the speaker's role, the gentler and warmer the quote should be. The more playful the speaker's relationship with the couple, the more room there is for wit, self-deprecation, or a line that pokes fun without ever crossing into genuine embarrassment.

A Few More Worth Keeping in Your Back Pocket

"Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship, never." Charles Caleb Colton, English cleric and writer (1780-1832)

A thoughtful line for a speech from a friend who watched the couple's relationship begin as friendship long before it turned romantic, a common enough origin story that this quote earns its place in almost any speaker's notes.

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous." Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (1915-1982)

A playful closing line right before inviting the couple to share their first kiss as newlyweds, or as a caption beneath a ceremony photo in a wedding album afterward.

"You call it madness, but I call it love." Don Byas, American jazz musician (1912-1972)

A brief, punchy line well suited to a speech that wants to acknowledge, with affection, that the couple's relationship has always been a little intense, a little all-consuming, in the best possible way.

Why These Quotes Still Land, Decades Later

What ties this whole collection together isn't literary prestige, it's honesty. None of these speakers were trying to write something that would outlive them by a century. Churchill was making a joke about his own marriage. Erma Bombeck was writing a newspaper column, not poetry. Barbara Bush was talking to journalists, not composing verse. That unguarded, unpretentious quality is exactly why these lines still work at weddings today: they sound like something a real person actually thought, rather than something manufactured for the occasion. A wedding speech benefits enormously from that same honesty, borrowed quote or not.

Making a Quote Feel Like Part of the Speech, Not a Tacked-On Extra

A quote works best when it's introduced naturally rather than announced formally. Rather than saying "here's a quote about love," try leading into it with a personal observation first: "I've been trying to think of how to describe watching these two together, and honestly, someone else already said it better than I could." This framing makes the quote feel earned rather than borrowed, and it gives the speaker's own voice equal weight alongside the words they're quoting. Follow the quote immediately with a sentence or two connecting it back to the couple specifically, rather than letting it hang there disconnected from everything else in the speech.

Whichever lines resonate with you, remember that a quote is a tool for saying something true, not a substitute for saying it. The best toasts and readings use borrowed words as a springboard into something personal, specific, and entirely your own.