symbolic gesture - NOT a unity candle or sand ceremony

We're doing the 3 stranded cord ceremony. Visit godsknot.com - hth!

I saw someone post here about signing the marriage lisence during the ceremony.

You could do a wine ceremony. We've been debating that since he's French and I'm Italian. Here is an example: http://reverendkris.com/wineandroses.aspx

Hope this helps and congrats!

Yeah we're trying to incorporate the Canadian tradition of signing the marriage license during the ceremony since no one in this part of the States does it, it'll be something new and different. I can let you all know how it goes in a few weeks.

I thought signing the marriage license during the ceremony was a common thing? I'm not Canadian and almost every wedding i've been to has done it. Maybe we are just weird in Southern Illinois.

I like the signing the license during the ceremony idea - we're both lawyers, we met in law school, it seems like a "lawyerly" way to make it official.

When I first got married in England, signing the license was a big deal during the ceremony. this time? we didn't even have to sign the license, seriously. My marriage license does not have our signatures on it ANYWHERE. Just the judge notarizing it. I kept looking for a place to sign it...I was sad about that. I'm in Texas.

I have had the B&G combine 2 containers of water into a 3rd and then use that container to water a potted tree or tray of wildflowers that you can plant in your yard after.

You could do the hand-fasting ceremony, where you have the bride & Groom's ring hands joined tied together. If I'm not mistaken it used to be heavily prevalent amongst Scottish & Irish weddings. Where the bride's & groom's family tartans would be intertwined together in a braid and then wrapped around the hands of the couple to symbolize the joining of two families.

Now that I think about it, there's also something called a 'quaich' or 'quaigh', that is common amongst Scottish weddings as well. It's basically a two handed cup, made out of silver or pewter, that is either used as a gift to all those at the head table or symbolically drunk from by the happy couple and their parents as a toast of the family union.

This is where we found them before...

http://www.scottishlion.com/shopping/Quaichs-Flasks

My husband and I made a salt covenant to each other during our ceremony. I had brought it up to our officiant, but wasn't exactly sure how to incorporate it. We really liked how he brought it into the ceremony - it fit beautifully! And we received so many positive comments on it. No one had seen/heard of it before, and it was incredibly meaningful to us.

The 'tying of the knot' is a pagan tradition, so not all churches are comfortable with it.

I thought everyone signed the register during the ceremony? how else would you make it legal on the day?

We are writing letters to one another and sealing them in a wooden box with a good bottle of red wine. At our 25th anniversary we are going to open it. I don't want to spend money on a sand ceremony or unity candle because neither has much purpose after the wedding. I think for us, the wooden box will have more of a meaning.

Claire: I think in most states you fill out the paperwork and sign the application at the courthouse..then the officiant and a witness sign your marriage license either at the ceremony or after and they have to return it to the courthouse for filing within a certain amount of time and you receive it in the mail. ( I may be wrong....just how I understand it..)

I posted a similar post yesterday and Luta gave me some good info.. H/O let me find it...

Http://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/variations-of-sand-ceremonyunity-candleetc/470f44e6f45b037f.html there you go

DH and I did an hourglass ceremony. It's the same concept as the sand ceremony, but with a better looking keepsake and the idea that you turn it on every anniversary (although I'm thinking about asking DH if he wants to do major events, too) and as the sand mixes it represents your lives becoming more and more entwined. I brought it up to DH as something extra to do during the ceremony and he fell in love with the idea, and we had several engaged couples ask about it at our reception because they thought the idea was really cool, too.

Jlam, your correct, The signature of the bride and groom are collected on the license AT THE COUNTY CLERKS OFFICE, The officiant (I am one) only collects the signatures of the witnesses and their addresses.

As for unity ceremonies, there are a million, Handfasting, Rose, Sand, Candle, Salt, Footwashing etc. Here's a website with some - http://rubyglen.com/wedding/unity.htm

I recently officiated a wedding where the bride was Russian and the groom English. Her mother baked a round loaf of bread. After the ceremony (but I guess it could be during the ceremony), she brought the bread to the B&G so each could take a bite of the bread (representing plenty) and a pinch of salt (representing that life is sometimes bitter/tears).