Foot Washing Ceremony

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Ew.

I think most people just have instrumental music playing during it, or they read the passage from the Bible where Jesus washes the disciples feet.

Um, we can say "ew" if that's our opinion.

I think it's a pretty awkward moment for everyone. It's done in Catholic churches during Holy Week and even then...it's blorpish imo.

Any kind of music or reading that pertains would help alleviate it a bit.

I was thinking about doing the same. Thats such an awesome idea. You could play a song or you could get someone to read a poem or a scripture aloud.

This isn't my thing, BUT I wouldn't do a reading or anything like that during this portion of the ceremony. You could have music playing, but I'm thinking about when they do a foot washing at church, and it's just it's own thing.

In order to prevent your ceremony from being too long, I would probably do this instead of a unity candle or anything like that. One "activity" during the ceremony is enough.

Foot washing is usually a "directly religious" display. So as a guest, it would be weird to watch if there was no mention of the scripture it symbolizes.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

My sister did this at her wedding and it was beautiful. They had a really nice song play during it.

As a guest, and as a Christian, if it isn't religious in nature, I would be very confused (and maybe a little offended). That is a direct reenactment of a very important moment in scripture and it seems very awkward to say "Oh...we want to do this as a sign of our commitment to each other, but it's not religious." IMO, it cheapens the sacred nature of the act.

That being said, all 3 of my siblings had footwashings during their ceremonies (which were directly religious in nature). Two of them had soft instrumental music playing, while my oldest sister had the congregation sing a hymn ("The Servant Song"). My preference was for the hymn.

ETA: They each took off their shoes, and then one poured water over the other's feet from a pitcher, then wiped it with a towel. So they never actually touched the foot (only through the towel).

The foot washing out of context of religious meaning is odd. There are so many other things you could do as symbolic of service to each other besides that.

I have to say EW....sorry. It's a very awkward moment in any situation. I come from a seminary background with a chapel service every single day. We always did this on Maunday Thursday, and even in a room full of seminarians, the overall opinion was EWWWW....

I can't even think of a reading you'd use that wasn't religious since this is clearly a religious derivative and symbol, whether you want it to read that way or not. It's kind of like doing communion without religious language. It really doesn't make any sense.

People who have never seen it will think it's very self-conscious.

Personally, I'd write your vows with your intentions included. Keep in mind too that ' humble and serve' language, also very religious, is used in the context of Jesus washing his disciples' feet. It was a demonstration of a power flip; the saviour humbling himself before his followers. It honestly has nothing to do with your very honest intentions to go into your marriage with each others' best interests and needs in mind. Is that even the message you want to send?

I would do this with you officiant the night before. He or she can explain the significance to your guests at the ceremony the next day. This is a deeply religious act so if you are removing religion literally you are washing each others feet.

Myself and my family are also Christian, but my partner's family is not. But the washing of somebody's feet is not just a Christian tradition- it's pretty traditional in many cultures and religions. So I was looking for something that is a little more neutral than a scripture or bible passage, although I have thought about doing a compilation of examples from Christianity, Hindu, Muslim, and even some of the Celtic traditions. How long does it normally take? I was thinking around 5 minutes all together...

"Feet Washing Ceremony: A beautiful idea for a Christian wedding. A sign of being humble, thoughtful, and willing to serve. Have a beautiful pitcher with just a little water in it, a bowl, and a sponge. The bride and groom take their shoes off, placed the sponge in the bowl, poured the water on top of the sponge, lightly washed each others feet with the sponge, the dried their feet off with a towel, and placed their shoes back on once they were done.You can get special monogrammed towels to go with it."

I think five minutes is wishful thinking unless you are very prepared (water gets cold) or you do it more symbolically then...splashy is the only word coming to mind.

I have never seen this done, and I just imagine it to be awkward no matter what is going on in the back ground. Do you wash each others feet at the same time? Or is it one at a time?

As a guest I'd be watching your hands all night. Receiving line? Please don't shake my hand, or don't touch my back if we hugged. Are you eating food with your hands? Please don't feed each other cake with your fingers. Are you leaning in for a kiss? Are you going to touch each others cheeks/face? I don;t know how well you scrubbed. I don't know if you used an anti-bacterial soap.

I think a hand washing ceremony sounds much better.

I know someone who did this, and they did it during their first look. It seemed like a really intimate moment from the pictures. So you could do it during the first look.

Why not do a breaking bread or sharing the bread, salt, and wine ceremony instead and feed each other? You can have your officiant explain the meaning that you want it to and bonus, it's much less likely to skeeve people out. You could either play music or say your vows during it. If you do vows, you could say something specific about serving each other. It could be so meaningful and sweet!

We aren't having a rehearsal dinner, or a first look, or a reception. However, we are all (18 people) going out on a catamaran after the actual ceremony, so we did think about doing it on the boat, but I feel that loses some of the significance.

Some of these suggestions are nice- thanks guys!

I haven't heard of a hand washing ceremony? Could somebody explain that?

Well, when I do it, I have a vessel of water in the front of the ceremony space, where people enter. There is a sign asking people to dip their fingers in the water and make a wish for the couple.

Then we assign someone to bring it forward before we begin the ceremony.

At some point during the ceremony, I ask the couple to wash each others' hands to be blessed by the wishes of their community.

It's not really the same thing, but it's lovely.

IMO don't do this if you're not incorporating the religious aspect that's the whole idea! that's like having a cake with no filling or icing. Not to mention it's kind of awkward.