There are countless rituals that people have been enacting during the wedding ceremony over the millennia. In creating the perfect wedding for you, after receipt of deposit, your first consultation will be to get to know the couple and gather which materials will help you to organize your very own personized wedding ceremony. For example, here are a few examples of well known rituals that you might consider incorporating into your customized wedding ceremony:
Blanket wrapping: Common in Native American ceremonies, the couple wraps a quilt around the newly wed’s shoulders to symbolize warmth and togetherness. The blanket may also be a flag.
Bonfire: An African tradition were the two families light a central bonfire from each party’s respective hearths, and parents of the couple may fan the flame.
Breaking Glass: Traditionally, at the end of the ceremony, the groom breaks the glass under his feet to symbolize a new beginning.
Circle Around: The bride may circle the groom seven times to break away any barriers between them, or, the couple may circle around each other seven times to begin anew.
Children Moment: Children may take a moment to make a vow to the couple and the couple can in turn make a vow to the children. It is also common for small gifts to be exchanged.
Crowning: Bride and grooms are crowned by the minister to symbolize the status of the couple as King and Queen of their new family.
Handfasting: During a reading, the officiant ties the couple’s hands into a knot to symbolize the connectedness of the couple. Sometimes, the bridal party will pass the cord down to the minister and say a word to the couple along the way.
Jump the Broom: Like breaking the glass, jumping a broom signifies the couples first leap into their new life in matrimony and happens when the bride and groom hold hands and jump over the broom together.
Paint a Picture: Express your emotions during your union with a collaborative piece of art–a Unity Painting.
Promise Signed: Produce a marriage contract that is decorated by the couple for the couple to sign during the ceremony and later frame for the home.
Sand Blending: Like the Unity candle, each person pours a cup of sand (often two different colors) into a single vessel to symbolize “coming together.”
Smudging: The officiant will light sage or a smudge stick and waft it around the couple from head to toe and front to back to release the couple from any negative energies.
Sword Archway as Exit: Common in military weddings, the couple exits the procession through an archway of swords to symbolize a commitment to fidelity as well as the protection of the military.
Tree Planting: Plant a tree or plant to symbolize the growth of a new path to be nurtured.
Two Roses: To symbolize the gift of love, the couple will exchange roses. The roses may be passed up the bridal party and they may say a word for the couple while they hold the rose.
Unity Candle: The bride and groom light a candle for themselves, and together they light a much larger candle between them, symbolizing unity.
Wedding Basket: The couple requests that specific guests bring a gift to place into the wedding basket
Wine Ceremony: Couples may drink wine from the same cup, or may pour their favorite wine from their individual cup into a larger cup and the “blending” symbolizes the union and togetherness.
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Matrimony Minister 