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Heartsongs – Readings for Weddings, Pinky Agnew
Random House
Reviewed by Jan Treliving-Brown (Courtesy of Taranaki Daily News)

You know Pinky Agnew – she's the woman who does Jenny Shipley impersonations on McPhail and Gadsby. She's also a woman who's fallen in love with being a marriage celebrant. So from this one-time comedian, actor and radio columnist comes a stylish wee taupe-coloured glossy complete with satin ribbon: Heartsongs – Readings for Weddings.

Marriage has been placed naked under a high beam this year in New Zealand. What constitutes marriage, and who can have one? Pinky Agnew's world revolves around those who want one – and Heartsongs has sprung from her ringbinder of ideas, a delightfully eclectic collection of readings and quotes to help engaged couples choose something meaningful, authentic and intimate for their special day, however it looks.

A marriage ceremony carries few legal requirements, yet personal flavour on the wedding day remains very important to most couples. Agnew finds not many settle for a sign-on-the-dotted-line non-ceremony.
"Being a celebrant changed my mind about love and relationships, and transformed my life," she says.

Heartsongs is divided into eight sections including Classical Love, Holy Love, Laughter and Love, Wishes for Love. There are Christian, Jewish and Buddhist excerpts, a smattering of Shakespeare, even A.A. Milne, and this little ripper by Ogden Nash:
 "To keep your marriage brimming,
  With love in the loving cup,
  Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
  Whenever you're right, shut up."

I know I'm guilty of portraying this earnest little book as more frivolous than it is, but I can't resist finishing with classic Rita Rudner: "I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewellery."