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Morgan
Just Said Yes June 2020

Simple ceremony

Morgan, on May 20, 2020 at 10:56 AM Posted in Wedding Ceremony 1 19
So my fiancé and I are not religious and are not getting married in a church.
We really don’t want any readings, prayer or any type of unity symbolization during our ceremony.
Did anyone skip all of these and do something different or just skip all together? I’m worried it will feel rushed but we are not drawn to any of these.

19 Comments

Latest activity by Angel, on May 22, 2020 at 1:18 PM
  • Renay
    Devoted April 2020
    Renay ·
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    We did a very simple and short ceremony for our microwedding, because I figured our big postponed wedding we would do all the other things, but I am honestly not sure that I will bother. Our ceremony was short (the video is 7 minutes), but perfect. Do what you are comfortable with, and that is all that matters!

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  • A
    Super December 2020
    Anais ·
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    Like PP said do what works for you! Maybe look up on Google some ideas of non religious wedding ceremonies to see what they’re like. I don’t plan on having anything religious at mine, nor will we do a unity ceremony.
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  • H
    Master July 2019
    Hannah Online ·
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    We had a medium-sized wedding (115 guests) and we had a secular ceremony with no unity rituals or readings or anything. It was a bit on the shorter side, but people loved our vows. I think it ended up being like 10 minutes total, maybe less.
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  • Pirate & 60s Bride
    Legend March 2017
    Pirate & 60s Bride ·
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    We found a non-denominational officiant who has a sample non-religious ceremony we could edit! The ceremony was about 20 minutes. It was sweet but didn’t feel rushed. Your officiant can guide you.
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  • Katie
    Expert January 2021
    Katie ·
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    Do whatever is best for you! I think our actual ceremony will be 5 minutes and we’re just fine with that.
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  • M
    Legend June 2019
    Melle ·
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    I went to a ceremony that was literally just 10 minutes. they skipped all of that. i think it's fine to. and even if you aren't religious, you could still have readings done but it could be romantic poems or something.

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  • Courtney
    Super September 2019
    Courtney ·
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    I’d suggest working with your officiant on exactly what you want to include. We wrote our ceremony with our friend who was officiating. It was secular and had a lot of humanist components we had loved from other wedding ceremonies. We did have a reading and handfast, which were personal/cultural rather than religious elements.
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  • Mcskipper
    Rockstar July 2018
    Mcskipper ·
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    We didn’t do any unity ceremonies or anything.
    To personalize our ceremony though, our officiant told *our* story. She shared the story of how we met and the story of our engagement, it gave a little more weight to the ceremony and everyone loved it!
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  • Cyndy
    Master May 2019
    Cyndy ·
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    Do you! We got married on the beach and had my BF since childhood officiate our ceremony. We didn’t do much of the traditional stuff. We wrote it with her and made it about us.
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  • M
    Dedicated October 2021
    Megan ·
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    A whole bunch of people do this--the vast majority of the weddings I've been to have zero religious elements in them.

    FH and I also are not religious. We'll be hiring a strictly non-denominational officiant and going over the script with them. The ceremony is likely to be around 15 minutes, which works great for us (and our guests!)

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  • Kerin
    Super February 2021
    Kerin ·
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    Start by finding your officiant. If you specify you want a secular ceremony, they will likely have options and experience with it, so be able to guide you through it. I expect ours will be 20 minutes or less because we are skipping the readings and a couple other small parts.

    It's all about what you and your FH want. Short and sweet isn't a bad thing Smiley winking

    I think someone else said Google can offer some ideas, too. Good luck! Smiley heart

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  • VIP August 2020
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    We're planning something similar. It will probably end up being like 5 minutes long. It might feel short, but I don't think it will feel rushed. If you only include a few things that are really important to you (even if that's just an intro and vows), that means that you really care about each part of it. I think the fact that it's short will make it more meaningful.

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  • Gen
    Champion June 2019
    Gen ·
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    My husband and I are both Jewish, but are still not very religious. We got married at an inn and my brother officiated lol, so it's not like we had a very religious wedding. But it was still important to us to incorporate some Jewish traditions into our wedding... the only ones that affected the ceremony script were the 7 blessings, and the breaking of the glass. It's not like either of those things took particularly long either, so for the most part it was a pretty nondenominational ceremony. It didn't feel rushed at all. My brother just read some nice quotes about marriage, said some personal things about us that he had written, and then we read our self-written vows. We did the declaration of intent ("do you take this man..." "I do" etc.) and then exchanged rings. Then that was followed by the 7 blessings and breaking of the glass, but that part only took maybe 2 mins. Then we kissed and he pronounced us married! Our ceremony was about 15 minutes long, not including the processional (with the processional, it was 20 minutes). I felt like it was a perfect length.

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  • Futuremrs.v
    Savvy January 2021
    Futuremrs.v ·
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    Just personalize it to you both. Have the officiant tell a little story about you both( how you met or a fav memory?) my fiancé and I are getting married in a church and the pastor told us that it is our choice on how religious we want it to be he said bottom line it is our day and we need the ceremony to be centered around us
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  • J
    Master October 2022
    Jana ·
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    It's your ceremony so do what makes you happy. None of them are required and the wedding itself is a unity celebration. As long as you have the legal verbage of intent and vows, the rest is optional. Your officiant can help you out. In general, guests will appreciate short and sweet.
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  • Kayleigh
    Savvy September 2021
    Kayleigh ·
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    Hello!

    We aren't super religious and we are skipping the church also. We decided to get married right at our venue, which I think makes it easier for everyone so they don't have to drive from place to place. We're also skipping pretty much anything traditional, so we aren't doing any unity ceremonies either. We're also gunning for a shorter ceremony, but I don't think that means you're rushing anything. Good luck

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  • Martha
    Devoted February 2024
    Martha ·
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    On your boat and we have always known we just want to do simple vows to one another. Our top 3 venues are willing to do the ceremony and then go straight to reception.

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  • Morgan
    Just Said Yes June 2020
    Morgan ·
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    Honestly, no one enjoys public speaking, we aren't even having our MOH/best man do any speeches. We just want everyone relaxed and to have a good time. I really don't want to ask someone to do a reading. We don't have any attachment to any poem, song lyric, etc that I feel necessary to make a part of our ceremony, honestly.

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  • Angel
    Expert August 2020
    Angel ·
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    We're doing a small reading that isn't religious at all. But do whatever you want! I had so much fun personalizing the ceremony. If you guys aren't into all the other things, that's totally fine! Short and sweet is great too.

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