Getting married in a church or religious setting might be a long-standing tradition, but it’s not the only way to make your union official. If you and your partner aren’t exactly religious people; then perhaps a spiritual or non-tradition wedding might be a better representation of your relationship and beliefs. Alternative ceremonies are no less binding than religious ceremonies, but they offer more creative opportunities for a symbolic marriage ceremony that best suits your relationship and personal style. Here are a few unity ceremony ideas to incorporate into your wedding.
Sand Ceremony
Marriage is about two different people coming together with their unique strengths and flaws to create an entirely new family. An excellent representation of this merging is a sand ceremony. This ceremony involves the bride and groom mixing two different colours of sand into one container; thus symbolizing their lives and hearts entwined. You can find some amazing colors at Sandsational Sparkle, or use a combination of glitter and sand you’ve collected from your favorite beach. Once combined; it would be extremely difficult to separate the sand out again. Just as the bride and groom are so joined together. The sand can be two complementing shades of the same colour or two different shades that go well together; symbolizing the relationship you two have shared.
Family Puzzle
When kids are already in the picture; marriage should be about bringing the two different families together to make a new happy family. To show the children that they are just as part of the union as you and your new spouse; add a family puzzle element to your ceremony. You can have a new family photo taken soon after the engagement, then transform it into a simple jigsaw puzzle for everyone to assemble together at the altar, symbolizing the new family coming together.
Love Letters
To preserve the love you both feel for each other on your wedding day, including love letters in your ceremony. A love letters ceremony involves the bride and groom writing love letters to each other during the ceremony, then sealing them away in a box with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. The idea is to open the box when your marriage is going through a difficult time. You’ll open the box, drink the wine together; then read how much you loved each other the day you got married. Hopefully, you will never have a reason to open the box, but if you do then the contents might encourage you to work through your problems. Alternatively, you could arrange to open it on a certain anniversary.
Handfasting
If you literally want to tie the knot with your partner, then a handfasting ceremony is the perfect way to celebrate your union. In Pagan wedding ceremonies, handfasting is the joining of the bride and groom’s hands and wrists at the end of the ceremony; as a final way to bind their lives together. The hands can be bound with ribbon rope or material made from a significant fabric.
