Have you seen a wedding ritual being performed at a friend’s wedding or heard about wedding rituals but don’t know exactly what they are or how to integrate one into your wedding ceremony? They can be a pretty powerful expression of your values and cultural background so it’s important that you choose one that suits you and reflects what is important to you.

Here are some of my favourites, briefly described, to help you in you in deciding what might be right for you.

The Unity Candle Lighting ceremony stems from ancient religious customs. It’s common that the bride and groom light individual small candles and together light a larger centre candle as a symbolic act of their union. Please Note: This ceremony is difficult to perform at outdoor venues.

For the Ring Warming Ceremony the wedding rings are placed in a little bag or tied together with a ribbon and passed around the guests. Each person makes a wish on the rings for the couple (ideal for small weddings) before they are placed on the couples fingers. Please Note: More than 50 guests and this ritual can be difficult to complete.
A Rose/Flower Ceremony can take many forms. The bride and groom can give each other a flower as their first gift as ‘husband’ and ‘wife’. It can be a promise that whenever they argue through their marriage they will always present each other with a flower to say sorry. Alternatively the bride and groom can present their mothers will a flower as a token of their thanks and love. In fact, a flower can be given to anyone at the ceremony!

The Sand Ceremony originated with the bride and groom each taking a handful of sand and flinging it in the air where it became one and inseparable. Nowadays the bride and groom, sometimes with family members, pour sand from individual glasses into a larger centre glass as a symbolic act of the blending of their lives and families. As the grains of sand will never be able to be separated, the couple are bonded for life.

Hand-Fasting Ceremony or Lover’s Knot This is one of my personal favourites and I have developed a couple of lovely options. During this ceremony the bride and groom’s hands are tied with one sash or several ribbons, usually when they say their vows. The knot is fastened – the origins of ‘tying the knot’ – after which the ribbon is removed from their hands and placed in a keepsake box. Like their love, the knot will stay tied forever. When several coloured ribbons are used these colours represent certain values which are important to you in your relationship.
A Wine Sharing Ceremony has its origins in many religious and European traditions, but can really be done by any couple! The bride and groom drink wine from the same cup and agree to share all the sweetness and bitterness that their marriage brings. Sometimes they share some bread too!

The Time Capsule or Wine and Love Letter Box is another of my personal favourites that you can be very creative with. The couple can ask guests to bring something on the day to place in a locked box or time capsule. It can be opened on any anniversary (1st, 5th, 10th etc…) Many include a bottle of champagne or wine and love-letters to each other but other nice ideas are photos, wish notes from guests, letters and newspaper clippings from that day.