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By now, surely everyone's familiar with the unity candle, but did you know
there are other unification ceremonies to choose from when planning your
wedding?
Although the unity candle seems to have been with us forever, in reality it's
only about ten years old. During those years, more "two-become-one" motifs have
arrived to round out the theme.
Unification ceremonies are not only a symbol of togetherness, they're also
flexible elements of a wedding. These ceremonies can be "opened up" to include
important family members, such as the bridal couple's parents. Children from
previous marriages can play a part, as can the entire congregation in a smaller
wedding. Candle and rose ceremonies are common choices for adapting in this
way.
Unification ceremonies can also be "stacked." It's not unusual to find a
wedding that includes a hand and water ceremony, for example, or a wine and
rose ceremony. Some couples play music during these ceremonies and others
don't.
The timing of unification ceremonies varies by wedding, but they most often
take place directly before or after the exchange of vows. These ceremonies may
be especially important in non-religious weddings, which may end too quickly
otherwise!
Let's look at some alternatives to the Unity Candle ceremony:
* Rose Ceremony
The rose ceremony is a flexible, informal ceremony especially suited to an
interfaith or non-religious wedding, not to mention a garden wedding! In the
rose ceremony, bride and groom exchange a single rose as their first married
gift to each other. They are asked to recall this symbol of their love during
the more trying seasons of marriage.
* Hand Ceremony
In the hand ceremony, the bride takes the groom's hands in hers, palms up. The
officiant invites her to view his hands as a gift, and says: "These are the
hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future, as
together you laugh and cry, and together you share your innermost secrets and
dreams."
The groom then takes the bride's hands, palm side up. The officiant says, "They
are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the
years, for a lifetime of happiness, as she promises her love and commitment to
you all the days of her life."
* Knot Ceremony
In the knot ceremony, the mothers of the bridal couple are given a cord, which
the officiant later asks them to give to the bridal couple. The couple ties a
lover's knot, which they may save to look back on later.
* Sand, Water and Wine Ceremonies
These are all mixing ceremonies suited to a Unitarian or interfaith wedding.
The sand ceremony is said to arise from Apache customs, and is popular in beach
weddings. In each case, the bride and groom pour sand or liquid from two
separate vials into one. In the wine ceremony, they drink the mixed wine.
A nice touch is to have the bride pour white wine while the groom pours red.
You can then serve rosé at the reception to remind everyone of the ceremony.
* The Salt Covenant
The salt covenant is an ancient tradition, well-described in the Bible, and
appearing regularly in Indian-national and Jewish weddings. Like the Jewish
Huppah, the salt covenant (a mixing ceremony with ancient connotations of
loyalty, protection and hospitality) is beginning to show up in non-Jewish
weddings as well.
* The Foot-Washing Ceremony
The foot washing ceremony (not to be confused with the Scottish bridal
foot-washing ceremony, a raucous pre-wedding event) is a fascinating, solemn
custom emphasizing the role of dual servitude in a marriage.
This short article hasn't covered all the unification ceremonies: there are
bread-sharing ceremonies, circling ceremonies, broom jumping ceremonies, and
probably more ceremonies that are being invented right now.
However, if you feel a unification ceremony might make your wedding more
meaningful and personal, consider these alternatives. Don't forget that you can
use more than one!
About the Author
Blake Kritzberg is the proprietor of:
http://www.just-wedding-favors.com. Visit the site for easy,
elegant, unusual, and affordable wedding favor ideas, wedding favor FAQ, and a
free wedding screensaver. This article may be freely reprinted so long as this
resource box and URL are preserved.
Reprinted from ArticleCity.com