Category Archives: Ceremony

The Hand Ceremony

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This was a great idea used by a couple recently.  They did this in addition to having a commemorative part to their ceremony, but I think it could easily be used as your commemorative portion.  I absolutely love the meaning and language!

 

And now, Bride, if you would face Groom and hold his hands palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you.

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love, which is holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.

These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorry and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will comfort you illness, and hold you when fear or grief overwhelms you.

These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes; eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you.

Groom, please hold Bride’s hands, palms up, where you may see the gift that they are to you.

These are the hands of your best friend, young and carefree, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she promises to love you all the days of your life.

These are the hands that will hold each child in tender love, soothing them through illness and hurt, supporting and encouraging them along the way, and knowing when it is time to let go.

These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times.

These are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick, or console you when you are grieving.

They are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams.  Together, as a team, everything you wish for can be realized.

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Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together!

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Last month I had the pleasure of performing an intimate wedding in Manhattan Beach, with all guests barefoot in the sand!  For the commemorative part of their ceremony, Martin and Brooke put together a puzzle made from a picture of themselves.  Before the ceremony, Martin and Brooke began putting part of the puzzle together by gluing individual pieces over a piece of glass.  During the ceremony, they had each of their mothers come up and add a piece to the puzzle.  It was a nice way to include two very important people in their lives, and also a way of showing their two families becoming one through their marriage.

Throughout the reception, guests were invited to add their own piece to complete the puzzle.

A guest makes sure his puzzle piece fits juuuuuust right
Martin and Brooke with their [almost] completed puzzle

Like this idea?  You can learn more about puzzle-pictures by checking out the website that Brooke and Martin used by clicking here.

Another cool thing about their ceremony was that they were able to share it with Martin’s family and friends who were thousands of miles away, in Hamburg, Germany.  One of their guests used his iPhone to take a video of the ceremony and reception, and through some form of magic (which I’m not sure of), their guests were able to log in to a website and watch the whole thing from their computers.

Gotta love technology!

Thanks to Martin & Brooke for letting the Merry Ministers be a part of their special day!

Alternate Ceremony Ideas: Rose Ceremony

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Here’s another idea for your ceremony if you’re looking to deviate from the standard sand or candle ceremony.

My good friend got married in June of this year, and she asked my husband and I to be a part of their rose ceremony.  Despite the name resembling the Bachelor’s “Rose Ceremony,” it is a super cute idea!

What is a Rose Ceremony?

My friend and her fiance asked different couples among their friends and family who are at different stages of their marriage to be part of their wedding: from the newly newly weds, to those that have been married for a couple years (that was Jeff and I!), to the champions that have been married for decades.  During the ceremony, they had the groom’s sister individually ask each couple to come up, take a rose, and place it in the vase.  While the couple was approaching the altar area, the groom’s sister announced the couple’s name, and how long they had been married.  They started with the couples who have been together the shortest period of time, and ended with a couple who had been married 30+ years.

Once everyone had put in their rose, the bride and groom put in their own rose, and the groom’s sister announced that the vase represented “X amount of years of marriage.”  “X” being the addition of all the years of marriage that were contributed to the vase.

I thought this was a great creative idea, and such a nice way to incorporate so many different people into their ceremony.  I loved the idea of showing people at different stages of marriage, and ending with a marriage that is a testament to true love.  Thank you to Katie and J for allowing me to share their creative ceremony idea 🙂

Picture courtesy of Nicholas at Candid Exposures

Ceremony Ideas

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My husband and I were pretty adamant about wanting to do something during our ceremony that wasn’t a sand ceremony or candle ceremony.  I really wanted to do something that we could keep and cherish for years to come.  Somehow, we decided to incorporate Jeff’s artistic talents with our desire to have a commemorative “something” that all of our guests could be a part of (granted, there wasn’t much artistic-ness to what we did, but his passion for art is what spurred the idea).

So we decided on something that allowed us to give our mother’s a special part in our ceremony, something Jeff and I could “make,” while still being something that our guests could add their own memories to it.

First, we bought a canvass board and outlined a heart on it.  Before the ceremony, we put red and black tubes of paint in two separate bowls, with two brushes in each.

Then we had our mom’s come up and outline each side of the heart in black:

Then Jeff and I filled in the heart with red paint:

The final touch was added by all of our guests throughout the rest of the evening:

 

It turned out pretty awesome, although it’s been two years already and we still haven’t gotten it framed!  Someday…