Add some flare to your ceremony with these unique rituals
For a lot of couples, especially those who don’t identify with a particular religion, deciding on what type of wedding ceremony to have can be daunting. And yes, you totally can just google wedding ceremony script or rely on your officiant to do the writing, but you want it to feel meaningful because it is meaningful. You can always look to your heritage for interesting wedding traditions. Talk to your parents or grandparents and see if they know of a tradition that they can share. After all, that’s what a wedding ceremony is all about, the two of you becoming family. Over the years, we’ve seen some really cool wedding ceremony rituals, here are a few that you can add to your ceremony to give it that personal touch.
unity candle ceremony
As far as wedding ceremony rituals go, this one is pretty popular and can work for just about any type of ceremony. Plus, it’s super easy to organize (which always helps). All you need is one beautiful center candle and two smaller candles. During the ceremony, the officiant or a member from either side of the family will light your individual tapered candles. Then, when prompted, the two of you will light the “unity candle” together, forever combining two flames into one. Pro Tip: Use a glass hurricane candleholder for your unity candle so it doesn’t blow out, shall we say, unceremoniously.
unity sand ceremony
This one is PERFECT for a beach wedding! Each of you holds a container with sand (preferably from different locations or of different colors or textures). [Bonus points if the sand comes from somewhere sentimental like your hometowns, a place you visited together, etc.] Then, during the ceremony, the two of you take turns pouring the sand into a large container, combining the tiny grains forever. This is a beautiful ritual and can be customized in so many ways, especially the containers.
wine blending ceremony
You had us at wine…but seriously, what’s not to love about this ceremony? Each of you (or your families) selects a wine that speaks to you. It can be a wine that you shared at all of your family gatherings when you were growing up, it can be the wine that you had on your first date–every wino has a wine that means something special to them. You can open the wine bottle during the ceremony, or have it pre-opened and put in a beautiful decanter. During the ceremony, you each pour your respective wines into a new decanter and the officiant swirls it, combining the two forever. The wine is then poured and shared by the couple. Now, there are a bunch of different variations on how you share the wine and who with. You can share the same glass with your S.O., you can have separate glasses and drink with arms intertwined, you can share the blend with your families (or with all of your guests), the list goes on and on. No matter what you decide to do, this ritual is always a crowd-pleaser.
tree planting ceremony
This is one of our favorite ceremony rituals that we’ve come across! Your officiant will walk you through planting a tree (or another plant of choice) in a decorative pot. First, each of you will add soil from your own separate vessels. You can get the soil from your local hardware store, or you can make it super meaningful by using soil from somewhere special to the two of you. Once the soil is combined, together, you will pot the plant. It’s so beautiful and symbolic. And the best part? You can keep it in your home or your yard and watch it grow with your marriage over time.
floral ceremony
At this lovely wedding that we featured, the couple asked their guests to bring a flower with them as they found their seats for the ceremony. The flower girls then collected those flowers and gave them to the officiant who tied them into a beautiful bouquet for the bride. As she walked down the aisle she carried with her all of the love and support from her family and friends. How beautiful is that (literally and metaphorically)?
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