How do you make a marriage ceremony unique and inspiring as well as meaningful? By total personalization…..let me show you how.
Most couples are not in a position to know which celebrant or officiant will offer them the opportunity to truly personalize their ceremony, to put their true essence into words and music. Hence my effort to shed some light on how you can totally personalize your ceremony and in the process achieving the unique, inspiring and meaningful outcome you desire.
Thoughtful and insightful personalization of your ceremony ensures longevity of your ceremony in your minds and the minds of your family and friends, long after other ceremonies have been forgotten, yours will be remembered.
The ceremony is the focus of your wedding day. Without a ceremony there is no marriage, no matter how short, how long, how personalized, informal or how formal. It is that special time devoted to the sharing of your thoughts and feelings on marriage, of and to one another, it is the time when you articulate your hopes or wishes and promises to one another and for your future together as a married couple.
Ask yourself these questions.
Because your wedding ceremony is the public blueprint for what you expect and hope for in your relationship, what is it that you want to say about your relationship or your journey together in this public forum? What stories do you want to tell? What beliefs about a relationship do you want to reveal?
What style of ceremony would you like and what is the image you want to project through it? Is it to be a theatrical or ritualistic performance, an intimate conversation with friends, a formal social event, a gathering of the clans, a ceremony with really traditional words and thoughts?
Unique wedding ceremonies include……..
Excerpts from your journey together including things like, how and where you met; when did you realize you loved one another and wanted to spend the rest of your lives together; what do you like/love most about each other; what does family mean to you; what do friends mean to you;what your hopes are for each other and your future together, why you decided to get married.
Instead of having the traditional giving away by the bride’s parents, have the couple given away by both parents or by everyone present at the ceremony…….when asked who gives their blessing, everyone responds “We do!” Its very affirming….can be goosebumping!
Readings or poetry…… are a very personal and beautiful part of any unique wedding ceremony. Readings often express unsaid thoughts and feelings. They can and often do continue a theme. They add light and dark, they separate, punctuate, they give balance and effect to parts of the ceremony. They provide opportunities for the couple to expand on their vows to one another and for family or friends to participate.
A personalized, unique wedding ceremony may have a theme running throughout, for example, a journey, friendship, water, mountains or promises. Themes can be carried through with the wearing of costumes by the bridal party and guests and also reflected in the choice of music.
Acknowledgement of the importance of family and friends, whether present or deceased, has become a popular and important unique wedding ceremony inclusion.
Cultural rituals or traditions can also be included to highlight and acknowledge your ancestors. In a civil ceremony nowadays you don’t have to possess any particular cultural ancestry to include a marriage tradition in your ceremony.
If I have got you thinking about your ceremony a little differently, that’s good. Think about your particular style, what it is you’d like to say on the day, what stories about your relationship do you want to share. Are there people you want to thank, acknowledge…….even if they are no longer living. As you both launch into the next phase of your lives, this is a fantastic opportunity to balance up the ledger and to do it in a unique and inspiring way with love and heaps of meaning, that’s what a personalized, unique wedding ceremony is all about.
About the Author
Elizabeth Gray is an Australian celebrant who conducts ceremonies for most of life’s milestones. For even more tips on how to personalize and inspirationalize your particular ceremony, go to:
http://www.spiritualceremonies.info
http://www.2ndmarriageceremonies.com
http://www.gaycommitmentceremony.net
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