Unique Ceremony Rituals

Our entire ceremony in its entirity is different and unique. We will be entering from the East, the dawning of a new day - the reference to the dawning of a new marriage, thus the getting married in a married and burying our past behind and as this is the begginning of new life together as well. We are also doing a handfasting, with all 13 colors as each color itself stands for something specific, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, gray, pink, brown, silver and gold. As well the number 13 has a lot of significance throughout the ceremony as you can tell with the 13 colors, our ceremony starts at 5:13 pm, I have 13 flowers in my bouquet, there will be 13 little sets of flower lining the aisle way, and there will be other little pops of 13 throughout.

We are doing a quilt wrapping. While pieces of fabric didn't come from friends and family, we still like the idea because both our mothers and grandmothers (and myself) are quilters. Plus, our guest book is a quilt that they'll sign blocks for.

FH and I also didn't feel the unity ceremony. Just didn't feel like us. We are doing a hands ceremony that we found already written by an unknown:

Please face each other and take each other’s hands, so that you may see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief temporarily comes to you. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

Cont.

CONT.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it, support and encouragement to pursue your dreams, and comfort through difficult times.

And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

We are doing a lei exchange ceremony to honour my Hawaiian heritage as well as a sand ceremony, but the sand ceremony will not be done until the reception. We are also doing the hand ceremony!!

We are going to do a rose ceremony. Basically there will be a large vase and two smaller vases on either side which will each hold a single rose. We will give a rose to our immediate love ones who will at the appropriate time place them in the large vase at which time the officiant or designee will take the single roses and give one each to myself and my husband. Then he and I will exchange it, symbolizing our first gift to each other as man and wife that of love (red rose = love) and then we will each place our gift in the large vase among the others.

We are doing a sand ceremony, but using an hourglass. I haven't seen it done but I think it's a beautiful concept.

Tami, I really like that take on the unity candle. I've never seen it done that way, but I really like the way that your two flames come from all of your friends and family before they become one. I think that adds a lot to the candles

I thought the unity candles were always lit by the families, then taken by the bride and groom to light their candle together.

We re doing a ring warming ceremony Google it! It's really neat

We are doing a unity cross.

Wine Box Love Letter Ceremony over here :-) Just ordered my box from Etsy today!

Get a box, get some wine, put the wine in the box.. write each other letters to be opened on a pre-selected anniversary. Lock the box at the ceremony… and you're done.

It's also an in case of emergency box. If our relationship is on the rocks then we're supposed to crack it open, read the love letters and try to re-connect. We got a box that locks rather than one that is nailed shut (as the proper tradition dictates) so that we can keep it going. After we open it, we'll write new letters to each other and then wait another 5 years.

We are doing the unity candle in addition the the 3 cord strand ceremony

http://www.godsknot.com/CordOfThreeStrands.aspx

Robin, that hands ceremony sounds incredible!

I love the ring warming ceremony too, Michelle! I thought that might be a nice idea, but we ended up electing the hand ceremony instead.

Also, thank you Brittany, we are excited for our ceremony!

The hand ceremony sounds awesome!

Ester, that is a beatiful cross, what is the meaning behins it, I have never heard of it?

We did an earth-mixing ceremony. We gatherered earth from all the homes each of us had ever lived in (even gathered earth from his childhood home on our trip to Chicago last year), and then we mixed the earth together in a single jar. During it, officiant said:

The unity ceremony is a tradition of modern weddings, symbolizing becoming one in commitment. For their unity ceremony, Eric and Melanie have chosen to combine earth from places they were raised throughout their life, commemorating the separate paths that led them to be together here today. --then listed off all places we collected earth-- As you are now man and wife, never able to be divided, so too the mixing of your family soil can never be separated. You are now of one heart, mind and soul.

Oooo... good suggestions are being brought in here!!

I'm totally loving the ring warming ceremony and the hands ceremony.... will definitely have to run these by the fiance!

Thanks for posting this Mika!! (PS Mika: I totally love that your avatar is Mr. Salt & Mrs. Pepper from Blues Clues LOL)

@ heavenly - The Groom places the outer Cross in the wood base as the Pastor explains how God created man- Bold, Strong, the Defender of the Family yet how he is empty and incomplete without the woman.

The Bride then places the more delicate cross inside of the Grooms cross as the Pastor explains how God created Woman- Delicate, multi-faceted, taking care of all of the little things that completes the man, and the -Two become One.

The Bride and Groom then use the 3 golden pegs to lock the union(cross) together in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the pastor exclaims that: What God has brought together let no man take apart.

It fits us perfect as we collect crosses and have them all around our home. And it's actually a very beautiful piece.