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Alternative forms of union ceremonies for couples

A lovely old Irish wedding vow

Celtic Wedding Vow This old Irish wedding vow comes from the Celts. Translated by Morgan Llywelyn in her book Finn MacCool. You cannot possess me for I belong to myself. But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine

Wedding Vows – Declaring your Intention & Pledging your Loving Commitment

This is the heart of the marriage ceremony. It can be as simple as making an announcement before the assembled witnesses that you take each other as lawfully wedded husband and wife. Or it can be more elaborate… 1. Preliminary

Acknowledging Parents / Parents Blessings

“We have here today some very special people…” An opportunity for the important role of parents to be acknowledged, and perhaps an opportunity for one or more of them to say a few words or do a reading.. Or this

Bell of Truce

A tradition from the West of Ireland, where the Celtic temperament has undoubtedly led to some very firey, passionate marriages.

Blessing the Rings

If you are exchanging rings, do you want them to be blessed or dedicated in some way before you do this? If so, who would you like to do this for you? Often the blessing of rings is done by

Community Pledge of Support

Will you ask your guests to signify their support for your marriage in some fashion? This might take the form of a ceremonial question which everyone responds to, signing a keepsake certificate at the end of the ceremony, or writing

Flowers

Flowers are the sex organs of plants 😉 – designed to attract the birds and insects to help with cross-polination. The language of flowers is ancient. To quote Wikipedia – “Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and

Four Directions

Acknowledging the four directions – east, north, west and south – is a traditional way of opening space for ceremony. You may like to have the celebrant or other special people call in the blessings of each of the directions

Giving Away

“Who brings this woman to stand beside this man?” Bride’s often choose to be escorted into the ceremony by a close family member, often male, but not always. The ceremony may also include a formal ‘giving away’ ceremony in which

Hand washing or another ritual purification

Would you like to make a fresh beginning? To ritually let go of anything you do not want to carry forward into your shared future? Purification rituals are an ancient part of making ready for a significant transition, such as

Handfasting with Ribbons or Cords

An old Celtic tradition – handfasting essentially means marriage by ‘taking hand’ with each other in front of witnesses. In contemporary weddings, we usually add to the symbolism by tying one or more coloured ribbons or cords around the joined

Honouring the Earth

If connection to nature and all the other interconnected life-forms that share our beautiful planetary home is important to you, we can acknowledge this with a reading of your choice and/or a symbolic gesture such as pouring out a vessel

Music

Music can be a wonderful element in a ceremony. If you have any musicians in your community who would be willing to play live, that’s often the best. Otherwise its about getting the right equipment sorted out so we can

Overcoming Symbolic Obstacles

In traditional Chinese culture the groom is stopped at the door to the bride’s house where he must overcome obstacles and challenges playfully set by the bride’s family before he can carry her off from her family home for the wedding.

Pouring a Libation

A libation is an ancient gesture of prayer or thanksgiving. Can be a nice way of beginning your ceremony.

Prayer or Invocation

Getting married always involves a leap of faith – faith in life, in yourself – that you will be able to find the inner and outer resources needed to overcome whatever challenges the future may present you with – in order to sustain

Circles of Blessing Celebrant Perth

Couples Ceremonies