Unity Candle (Catholic)
This joining ritual is quite popular at Catholic weddings, but its significance is universal: the joining of the couple as a new family, as well as the merging of their two original families. The meaning of the candles are explained. After the candle is lit, your Officient or an honored friend or family member may recite a blessing.
Candle Ceremony (non denominational)
Done with a central “eternal light” and two individual candles for the bride and groom.
Rose Ceremony (non denominational)
This modern ritual incorporates one of the most beloved symbols of romantic love–the rose. A white one is used in honor of the wedding day.
Groom (handing the bride the rose): “_____, take this rose as a symbol of my love. It began as a bud and blossomed, just as my love for you has grown and blossomed.”
Bride (place the rose into a bud vase filled with water): “I take this rose, a symbol of your love, and I Place it into water, a symbol of life. For, just as this rose cannot survive without water, I cannot survive without you.
Groom: “In remembrance of this day,I will give you a white rose each year on our anniversary, as a reaffirmation of my love and the vows spoken here today.”
Bride: “And I Will refill this vase with water each year, ready to receive your gift, in reaffirmation of my love and the vows spoken here today.”
(At this time the couple may join hands around the vase to exchange their vows; or this ritual can be done separately, after the vows have been spoken and rings have been exchanged.)
♥ Tree Planting
♥ Wine Box Ritual
♥ Wine Ceremony
♥ Stone Burying Ceremony
♥ Sand Ceremony
♥ Crossing Sticks (African American)
♥ Jumping the Broom (African American)
Poetry and Prose:
There are many Poems appropriate for a wedding. I can provide you with some choices or, please bring your own. I will be glad to help you to appropriately incorporate them into your ceremony.
Rings and Other Rituals:
The wedding rituals of a culture or country, an ethnic or religious group, or even a family serve much the same purpose–they are tried and true symbols of the joining of two people in marriage. The are the ways the community—the people present at your wedding, but also everyone else who follows the same traditions and share the same beliefs—recognizes the step the two of you are taking, and the way for you to take your place next to all the couples who came before you. They are also a way to include the people close to you in your ceremony.
Exchanging Rings:
After you exchange vows, you will exchange wedding rings. As your Officient, I will say a few words, first about their symbolism, say a blessing over them. There are also many different and varied phrases that are commonly used in the many church denominations. The most simple and traditional phrase is: “With this ring, I thee wed.”
Hand Fasting (Celtic)
Handfasting was practiced by the Celts, among other people, during the Middle Ages. A year after the couple was handfasted, they were officially considered a married couple. Many practicing pagans and Wiccans use the ritual as their wedding ceremony. It involved much reverence of nature and also the tying together of the bride’s and groom’s wrist or hands.
Handfasting (Afrocentric)
In some African tribes, the bride and groom have their wrists tied together with cloth or braided grass. To symbolize your own unity, your Officient or you might choose to have a close friend tie your wrists together with a piece of kente cloth or a strand of cowrie shells (symbols of fertility and prosperity) while affirming your oneness.
Honey Ceremony ( Multifaith)
This ritual revolves around honey, a symbolic food since ancient times and crossing many cultures.