Ceremony Traditions Part 1

Every wedding ceremony is special in its own way of course. It is just a matter of finding a special tradition that fits your style and maybe even your heritage.

Unity Candle

A pretty well know tradition is the Unity Candle. The Unity Candle is a Christian tradition where the brides parents light the first candle and then the grooms parents light the second candle, the bride and groom then use the candles to light their big candle. The tradition is to signify the joining of 2 families and love that burns as bright as the flame.

Jumping the broom

The jumping of the broom is an African American tradition. The couple would actually  jump over a broom that is festooned in ribbons to honor their ancestors. This was a tradition started during slavery when the marriage of slaves was illegal.

Tying Hands

Hand fasting emerged out of Great Britain during the pagan times. The bride and groom bind their hands together with a ribbon to symbolize the joining of their lives.

Rose Ceremony

The ceremony of Roses can be done two ways.

1. The bride and groom present the roses to their mothers to symbolize love and gratitude.

2. The bride and groom present each other with the roses along with a reading explaining that the rose should be a symbol in their relationship of forgiving and loving. A rose should be presented when one person wants to say I’m sorry or when they just want to say I love you.

5 Unique Ceremony Ideas

1. Matt and I built an arbor similar to the one above. We took birch trees that came from our property and built an arbor, that has sentimental value! It also adds a personal touch to your ceremony. Can also create a very easy Huppa with the same concept.

2. For those really hot summer days, why not put one of your engagement photo’s onto a fan for your guests to use and then keep as a memento

3. This is similar to the one above. But Jeanne decided to have her programs printed on the fan. It saves paper and also is a really cute way to display your program.

4. Personalize Aisle Runner

5. A cute alternative to the sand ceremony or unity candle would be for the whole family to light a floating candle and send it up, to symbolize unity.

Floating Sky Lanterns and Floating Water Lanterns are also fun ideas that all the guests can participate with, they also make amazing pictures!

Do you have any unique ceremony ideas?