Moment of silence to remember deceased loved ones?

We are doing a remembrance table with candles and pictures of our loved ones that can't be there.

Hmmm. that kind of puts a somber mood on the wedding. FH and i are lighting candles in remembrance of the deceased. Haven't decided if it will be us lighting it or family members before i walk down that way it's like they are present from the beginning. I think thats better than a moment of silence.

I have never seen this before at a wedding. Normally I see a remembrance table with candles and pictures of your loved ones. I agree that this idea can be a little somber for a wedding.

I don't know if I would do a moment of silence... I have heard of leaving a seat with a sign for those who cannot be there... or having special flowers on the alter and having the pastor explain them... a moment of silence seems like it may put a damper on the exciting day... but if it is important to you then go for it

We planned on doing this, but our officiant also suggested it. The weddings I've been to have did it also.

My officiant included this in our ceremony template, so it would not be completely out of the blue. That said, if you feel awkward about it, there are plenty of other ways to remember loved ones at a wedding.

I went to a wedding where instead of a moment of silence they donated to a cause in place of having favors (in this instance it was Stand Up to Cancer). I thought it was a nice idea.

Edit: I understand people may not want to do this in lieu of favors, but I see so many favors thrown out or left behind that to me this is a much more worthwhile use of someone's funds. Again, it's just personal preference - but I thought it was lovely.

I've never seen this at a wedding, but I may never have been to a wedding where a parent was deceased.

I think we're doing a moment of silence. I lost both my mom at 14 and dad at 20. I'm don't think I'm going to do a table with them because I don't want to cry every time I look at it. Planning everything without them is hard enough... I'm going to put a locket on my bouquet with their picture in it for sure!

FH and his Dad are both very private people so I think they didn't want to make a big deal about it. I think it's just a self preservation thing which since it's their person, their family I have to respect it. But I also thought it was odd to ignore the issue. He agreed on the moment of remembrance thing as long as we didn't call her out as not being there. I'm still iffy on the moment of silence.

I've never seen moment of silence but I have seen a table with pictures

We do this at many weddings, but it's very brief and we almost never mention specific names. I don't do it at the beginning.

It really needs to be based on how YOU feel about it. And how expertly your officiant can weave it into the narrative of the ceremony.

But please, no empty chairs. It's far too graphic a reminder, and someone has to sit next to it through the ceremony.

Donations are not in lieu of favors. Just make the donation, as often as you can, and keep it to yourself, honestly.