By now, surely everyone's familiar with
unity candle, but did you know there are other unification ceremonies to choose from when planning your wedding?Although 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 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 bridal couple's parents. Children from previous marriages can play a part, as can 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 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 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 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 more trying seasons of marriage.
* Hand Ceremony In hand ceremony, bride takes groom's hands in hers, palms up. The officiant invites her to view his hands as a gift, and says: "These are 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."
