Special Ceremonies
- Wine box ceremony.
Prior to the wedding, you gather a strong wooden wine box, a bottle of wine and two glasses. Then, also before the ceremony, you both sit down separately and write love letters to each other, explaining your feelings of joy, commitment and what you love about one another. Each letter gets sealed separately. During the ceremony, the officiant explains the process, and the two of you take turns hammering in one nail at a time (or turning the lock together, if that is the type of box chosen). There are several options on when to open this box. It can be opened on a particular anniversary or each anniversary and re-sealed with a new bottle of wine and newly written love letters, or it can be done during a rough time of the marriage as a reminder of what brought you together and the love that was shared the day the box had been sealed.
- Handfasting.
This is an ancient tradition with Celtic origins. Here, the bride and the groom’s hands are bound together by cords while the officiant explains the significance of the ceremony and while the couple recites their vows to each other.
- Honoring the mothers.
This is usually done before the bride is presented to the groom (after the bridal march) or before the recessional. The bride takes two pieces from her bridal bouquet and gives each piece to her mother and her mother-in-law. The flowers (may be a single rose) are given with a kiss. Some brides hold a variation of this, where they have their bouquet fashioned into three smaller bouquets. Before the bride goes to the altar with the groom, she divides the big bouquet into three and gives two of these to her mother and her husband-to-be’s mother.
- Sand ceremony.
The bride and the groom hold vases filled with colored sand, one color for the bride, and one for the groom. The bride and the groom pour layers of their colored sand into the vase. This symbolizes the couple’s life as an individual and their life together. Other variations include members of the family (such as the couple’s parents, or any children each may have had prior to the marriage).
- Ring warming ceremony.
Prior to the start of the wedding an announcement is made explaining that the wedding bands will be passed around to each guest during the ceremony. Guests are invited to hold the rings and to silently offer a blessing or a wish for the newlyweds, then pass them on to the next guest. The rings are then returned to the officiant for the completion of the ceremony.
Prior to the wedding, you gather a strong wooden wine box, a bottle of wine and two glasses. Then, also before the ceremony, you both sit down separately and write love letters to each other, explaining your feelings of joy, commitment and what you love about one another. Each letter gets sealed separately. During the ceremony, the officiant explains the process, and the two of you take turns hammering in one nail at a time (or turning the lock together, if that is the type of box chosen). There are several options on when to open this box. It can be opened on a particular anniversary or each anniversary and re-sealed with a new bottle of wine and newly written love letters, or it can be done during a rough time of the marriage as a reminder of what brought you together and the love that was shared the day the box had been sealed.
- Handfasting.
This is an ancient tradition with Celtic origins. Here, the bride and the groom’s hands are bound together by cords while the officiant explains the significance of the ceremony and while the couple recites their vows to each other.
- Honoring the mothers.
This is usually done before the bride is presented to the groom (after the bridal march) or before the recessional. The bride takes two pieces from her bridal bouquet and gives each piece to her mother and her mother-in-law. The flowers (may be a single rose) are given with a kiss. Some brides hold a variation of this, where they have their bouquet fashioned into three smaller bouquets. Before the bride goes to the altar with the groom, she divides the big bouquet into three and gives two of these to her mother and her husband-to-be’s mother.
- Sand ceremony.
The bride and the groom hold vases filled with colored sand, one color for the bride, and one for the groom. The bride and the groom pour layers of their colored sand into the vase. This symbolizes the couple’s life as an individual and their life together. Other variations include members of the family (such as the couple’s parents, or any children each may have had prior to the marriage).
- Ring warming ceremony.
Prior to the start of the wedding an announcement is made explaining that the wedding bands will be passed around to each guest during the ceremony. Guests are invited to hold the rings and to silently offer a blessing or a wish for the newlyweds, then pass them on to the next guest. The rings are then returned to the officiant for the completion of the ceremony.