News & Articles
A ceremony to remember
6 Dec 2007
Saying ′I Do′ to the love of your life in front of your most cherished family and friends might be poignant enough for a traditional couple. But for those who crave a more distinctive wedding ceremony, A Lavish Affair offers inspiration with unique rituals to pledge your commitment with flair.
Sand
What better way to represent the joining of two lives than mixing coloured sand to form a new foundation. The celebrant pours the groom's blue sand and the bride's pink sand into a new container stating that: "As the sand can never be separated so will their lives be ever joined in this marriage."
Water
Celebrant Marita Wilcox says the water ritual symbolises the letting go of grief and fear and the beginning of a new source of life. "Water symbolizes rain, tears and cleansing, healing and growing. It represents what you want to let go of and what you want to hold on to," she says. As the couple dip their fingers into the water they ask to:
"Let us grow new lives out of our losses.
Let us respect our fragility, beauty and vulnerability.
Let us celebrate together the many possibilities for love in our lives."
And with a scattering of rose petals and leaves, they shed the past to begin a new phase of married life.
Candles
The delicate flicking of a candle is a poignant way to capture the reverence of a marriage. Some couples choose to light their unity candle together, or to use the candle to honour someone special that has passed - perhaps a mother or a father present in spirit.
Roses
The world's most romantic bloom - the red rose - can be used to pay homage to the mothers who have raised the bride and groom to reach this special day in their adult lives.
Presenting the roses to the mothers signifies the love the couple have for them and gratitude for years of devotion, nurture and care.
Ribbons
The ancient ritual of the tying of the knots symbolises the weaving of two lives into one. Red silk is often used to represent fire, love, joy, passion, and energy, and in the Eastern tradition - prosperity and luck. Each of the ten knots accompanies a vow that asks the couple to start their marriage, pledge their love, entwine their hearts, and join their souls.
Blessings
A Lavish Affair's principal Marisa Welcome says one of her favourite rituals is the warming of the rings, which are placed in an organza or satin bag and passed around to guests who hold the wedding rings, and make a wish or a blessing for the couple.
"It also makes a great laugh when the celebrant is searching for them when it's time for the vows," says Marisa.
Vows
Personal vows are a wonderful opportunity to tell your partner how you feel about them on the most dramatic day of your life.
"They aren't always easy to write but are well worth the effort," says Marisa, who often prints up vow cards in matching stationery so couples don't forget the words under stage fright.
"It's also great if the celebrant or priest shares with the guests a little about the bride and groom - who they are as people, how they met - which adds a personal touch and captures the attention of the guests at the ceremony," she says.
Anything to stop your relatives who've driven 10 hours to get there (too cheap or too afraid to fly) from nodding off. The last thing you want to hear on your wedding video is snoring.
