Posts Tagged ‘Wedding rituals’
How do I include my children in my wedding ceremony?
Here’s a summary of our top ideas to include a child in your wedding ceremony Write your children into your wedding ceremony Give your child a meaningful gift A family wedding certificate Include a child in a Handfasting ceremony Involve your child in a Sand Ceremony When a couple has children, either from their relationship or from previous relationships, I ask how they envision including the children in the ceremony. Sometimes they consider a traditional wedding party role, though more often than not, they have limited ideas for how to involve their children. If the ceremony is celebrating the blending of a family through marriage, it’s not only a nice idea to include the children, it’s essential that everyone in…
Read MoreHandfasting vs Handtying: A Guide for Couples
With the growing popularity of Handfasting as a ritual to include in a ceremony, you may have come across beautiful images and braids on Pinterest. But did you know that there is a difference between a Handfasting and a Handtying? The Celebrant Directory member Glenda Procter shares her guide on differentiating between a Handfasting and a Handtying. There’s nothing that Glenda doesn’t know about this ancient ritual! She is a double award-winning celebrant with years of experience conducting all types and styles of Handfasting and Handtying Celebrations. She is not known as the Queen of Handfasting for nothing. If you’re a couple seeking a Handfasting, this blog is written just for you, to better understand what it is you are actually…
Read MoreBespoke rituals for bespoke weddings!
Having a Celebrant led wedding is all about choice and all about you! There are no rules, anything and everything goes, with the ultimate goal of creating something completely unique that is all about you, your love story and, fundamentally, about making the ceremony at the very heart of your day to create lasting memories. Why settle for anything less? In the same way, working with a Celebrant means that you don’t have to settle for ‘off the shelf’. When I work with couples, I take time to get to know them and have designed a series or questionnaires which are fun to complete and ensure that I get them talking about all those funny stories. I want to know…
Read MoreThe Art of Handfasting
What is Handfasting? Handfasting is a beautiful, symbolic marriage ceremony, or ritual, and is believed to span several cultures dating back thousands of years. However, it is widely accepted as being of ancient Celtic origin and a nature-related ritual with a spiritual tradition. The phrase ‘tying the knot!’ and the action of shaking someone’s hand to agree on something, are probably derived from this action of binding the couples hands together, often with coloured ribbon or cord to symbolise their union of love. Beautiful words are spoken by the Wedding Celebrant before, during and after the ceremony which adds real romance and significance, making it very special! Hands can be joined by crossing them or side by side and the…
Read MoreHow to modernise traditional wedding rituals
So, ceremony rituals are a new thing right? Well no. Wedding rituals, symbolic or not, have been with us for ever and a year. Weddings themselves are a ritual, a rite of passage, a culturally or religiously defined act. In most countries, weddings have a legal status. In the UK, the legal registration of a marriage is a slightly different matter to the ritual of the wedding ceremony. Hands up if you are not familiar with this wedding ritual; No prizes I’m afraid, but if you answered ‘the exchanging of rings’, then you can give yourself a pat on the back. Many people don’t realise that there is no legally binding need to exchange wedding rings. It is however, one…
Read MoreHow to include Indian rituals in an Indian/Western fusion wedding
What Indian rituals can I include in my non-religious Western style wedding? As an Asian celebrant, Sonal Dave was recently very lucky, to be able to conduct a non-religious, spiritual wedding ceremony for a young Hindu couple. They wanted to show respect to their parents beliefs during the wedding ceremony but focus on their own wishes to have a few Indian symbolic rituals mixed with the Western ceremony. Here she shares her experience and advice for how to have an Indian/Western fusion wedding ceremony with inspiration for Indian clothing, live music, vow writing and cultural Indian traditions. Spiritual rather than religious ceremonies For many years Asian and Western families have followed what their grandparents or the family priest told them…
Read MoreHow to use rituals at your wedding
Using Ritual at your Wedding Hundreds of thousands of years of human experience give you a wonderful treasure trove of resources to express your love. One of the best things about a celebrant led wedding is the ability to mix and match all sorts of traditions, both ancient and modern, to express exactly what you want to say about your union. Millennia of human evolution has given us an incredibly rich toolbox full of different kinds of rituals that all capture something special about the experience of two lives coming together and connect with your own unique story. Where do wedding rituals originate? A fact of the human experience is that we are ritual beings; we create all sorts of…
Read MoreA bride’s guide to winery weddings, vineyards and wine ceremonies
A winery can make an unforgettable wedding venue and here in Kent where I am lucky to live and work in the UK, we have plenty to choose from. As a celebrant, vineyards are my favourite venue, because they offer me the chance to craft some amazing ceremonies for couples who wish to do something a little different for their special day. Vineyards vary hugely in size and facilities. Some are well experienced and have dedicated event space and teams of planners, others are more intimate and rustic, which offers scope to create something really original. Wine itself has been used throughout millennia in many and varied rituals and celebrations, in both religious and non-religious ceremonies, and as with most…
Read MoreHow to do a jumping the broom ceremony
What is a jumping the broom or besom ceremony? Congratulations! You have already decided that choosing a celebrant to deliver your wedding ceremony gives you a whole range of options that a registrar just can’t. A favourite option with many couples is ‘jumping the broom’ – a ritual that is full of fun and theatre, that is a great way to involve your guests and looks amazing on your photos and video – what more could you want?! Read on for more ideas about how you can incorporate a ‘jumping the broom’ ritual into your ceremony. Where did the tradition of jumping the broom come from? ‘Jumping the broom’ seems to have started originally in Wales where the idea of…
Read MoreWhy choose a Celebrant?
So, here we are just coming towards the end of the winter months… warmer days ahead and lots of planning to be getting on with for your wedding, whether it’s this year or a bit further ahead. There is much to consider and organise as you approach your big day, but have you given any thought to the most significant words you will ever say to one another? Many couples get caught up in all the other aspects, such as flowers, the dress!, make up, photos, cars, cake and so on that they don’t give enough time to consider their options when it comes to the ceremony itself. Do you really want to be saying words that you’re told to say?…
Read MoreAdd extra personality into your Wedding with a Unity Ceremony!
So what exactly is a unity ceremony? Unity ceremonies symbolise the joining of two people together as one, they offer magical moments within a wedding ceremony where two separate journeys come together onto a single pathway. They allow couples the opportunity to be individual and creative within their ceremony and provide a beautiful keepsake of the day. I love to add beautiful unity ceremonies into wedding ceremonies and how many I add is completely up to the couple I’m working with, there are lots of lovely ones to choose from! Many of my unity ceremonies take place in the Algarve and due to the beautiful natural resources available you don’t have to worry about taking excess baggage…think sand, shells, lace,…
Read MoreWhat is a Wine Ceremony and is it right for you?
You’ve planned your ceremony and you’ve decided to have a unity ritual. Adding a wine ceremony is a great way to symbolise the unity of your two lives together. Wine is known for celebrating and romance. So why not add it to the biggest celebration of your life? Here we’ll talk about the symbolism of the ceremony and how you can add it to your wedding day. Symbolism Wine is universal and is known to have many different symbols, the wine ceremony is no different. It can represent the richness of life, the sweet and bitter elements life throws at you or the idea that like wine, life changes through time. However, how you want to…
Read MoreUnity Candle Ceremony: Everything you need to know
As you move into the beautiful bond of marriage, it isn’t uncommon to feel the need to recognise this life-changing moment in a memorable, symbolic way. One tradition that remains popular is that of the Unity Candle Ceremony. A Unity Candle Ceremony is a great way to personalise your wedding ceremony; plus, it is arguably the tradition rooted in the most romance! What is a Unity Candle Ceremony? A Unity Candle Ceremony is when a couple each take a lit candle and simultaneously light what is known as the “unity candle”. This symbolises their joining together as a family, while maintaining their individuality. Here at The Celebrant Directory, we have seen a huge increase in couples integrating Unity Candle Ceremonies…
Read MoreSand Ceremonies – What’s it all about?
Sand Ceremonies: What are they, why do we do them and how you can create a special sand ceremony yourself! Sand ceremonies are becoming increasingly popular as couples are finding great ways to add a modern twist on a traditional ceremony. So what is a Sand Ceremony and why are we so excited by them?! The beauty of a sand ceremony is the visual symbolisation of joining two people together in marriage by the blending of two coloured sands. It can be a quirky twist on the traditional unity candle ritual (and perfect for outdoor weddings, saving you from re-lighting the candle 10 times on a windy day!). Sand ceremonies can also be a beautiful way to show the joining…
Read MoreReal Wedding Ceremony: Raj & Joe
Couple: Raj & Joe Venue: Ashover Parish Hall in Derbyshire Celebrant: Helen Jubb The couple What struck me about Raj and Joe after chatting with them was the journey of discovery they had been on. This is a couple who had to find their own path, balance their differing cultures and religious beliefs whilst navigating the untrod path of love and sharing a home. On the day Raj and Joe did their legal paperwork earlier the same day with family members so when they arrived at Ashover Parish Hall in Derbyshire there was a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Joe had been wearing a traditional Western suit for the registry office but before the celebrant led ceremony began he changed into…
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