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Honoring Different Religions & Backgrounds
in Your Wedding Ceremony
By Christopher Rollings, Director of Creative
Wedding Ceremonies
Your Wedding, Your Way. It's one of the most
important days of your life and your wedding ceremony should be
all that you want it to be, but it may not always be easy.
Different religions, diverse backgrounds, in-law relationships.
These are all areas that may cause difficulty when planning your
wedding ceremony. Combining diverse backgrounds and religions
into a beautiful, personalized ceremony may seem like an impossible
task at times, but by looking outside the traditional venues and
identifying important areas for the both the bride and the groom,
it can be accomplished. Your wedding ceremony should honor your
backgrounds, while creating a beautiful beginning for both the
bride and groom and their families.
Acknowledging your different faiths, styles and traditions is
your first step towards creating "Your Wedding, Your Way." This
can be done by selecting key elements from both the bride and
the groom and including them when you create your ceremony. Remember,
it's your ceremony and it should reflect the uniqueness of your
relationship.
Prayers and readings are one way to include both of your faiths
in the ceremony. You can honor your parents and family by having
a member of each family share a reading from their faith. In situations
where the bride or groom no longer practices the religion, acknowledging
the family's faith helps to bridge the gap.
Another way to include your family is by using a special ritual
in your ceremony such as the "Presentation of the Rose" or the
lighting of the "Unity Candle." The unity candle is a symbol of
family unity. Usually a single candle (representing the newly
married couple) is lit with two individual candles, each representing
the bride and groom's families. This type of custom in the ceremony
acknowledges your past, while bringing together the families for
a new beginning.
Other traditions that can be used include the "Breaking of the
Glass", "Vessel of the Rose", "Huppah", "Releasing of the Doves"
and of course, many others. The Breaking of the Glass is a Jewish
tradition that represents the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem
and can also represent the fragileness and special care that the
marriage relationship deserves. Many times couples save the pieces
of glass from the ceremony in a symbolic box. Releasing of the
Doves after the ceremony symbolizes love, peace, prosperity and
good luck for the bride and groom. The Huppah is another Jewish
tradition where the ceremony takes place as the couple stands
under an ornamental canopy. This canopy symbolizes the nomadic
tents of Israel and the new home that the couple will soon share.
For blended families, the "Family Medallion" is a ritual that
is used in ceremonies where children of the bride or groom are
involved. The coin represents the beauty of the family and is
given to the children during the ceremony. Families may also desire
to give other personalized gifts or mementos that reflect their
love and appreciation.
Including these different pieces of the bride and groom's background
simply builds the richness, uniqueness and togetherness of the
ceremony. It allows both families to share their faiths and backgrounds
with the guests in a ceremony that celebrates the past, while
also creating and celebrating a new union.
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