Symbolic Ceremony
WHEN NEITHER THE RELIGIOUS NOR THE CIVIL CEREMONY ARE YOUR CUP OF TEA! Here the Symbolic Ceremony
For those unfamiliar with my story, I’ve been married twice:
1st) I was only 20 years old, in love with the mysterious (wrong) boy, who at some point, under the pressure of the families, decided to marry obviously with a religious ceremony (the union was annulled by the Sacred Rota a year later – essentially erasing it from existence!).
2nd) The one that will last for life, in love with the right boy, that after 15 years of life together and a girl at the time of the events of 11 years, decided to get married, civilly (by that time nobody knew the opportunity of a symbolic ceremony combined with a civil one).
Are you wondering what is the common thread between these two stories? Simple…the fact that neither the first, nor the second ceremony belonged to me.
The religious one (though I am a believer), did not speak of us as individuals and couples, but everything focused on the word of God and rules etc etc.
On the other hand, the civil one is just a cold and quick reading of laws to be signed, in front of the mayor or someone in his/her behalf that we have never seen before.
Once I became a wedding planner while living in the UK, my mentor made me discover the wonder of the symbolic ceremony, (since there it has been known and used for decades).
That exact moment for me was the turning point. There, I realised that the perfect ceremony existed. There, I realised that each love story is unique and deserves to be told with the right words, using the appropriate tones, doing the symbolic ritual that most represents us, and exchanging the promises we wrote between a tear and a smile, making our better half understand how immense our love is.
If you are curious to know more, contact me, and I will be happy to explain how a symbolic ritual works.
Speaking of rituals, I leave you some inspiration below….
RITUAL OF THE SAND: The sand ritual involves pouring two different-coloured sands into a single glass container, symbolising the combination of two individuals, the bride and the groom, into the single unit that is their marriage.
The ritual is a wonderful way to involve children in the ceremony, making it possible to acknowledge their presence at the wedding and also in the family.
RITUAL OF WINE: During the ceremony, the bride and groom put a bottle of wine and two letters in a wooden box. Those letters were written one by the bride and one by the groom. The meaning of this rite is to create a family tradition, so every year (usually for the wedding anniversary) the newlyweds will open the box, drink together wine, read the letters and then prepare the box for the following year.
RITUAL OF LIGHT: The bride and groom are given two individual candles and helped to light them: in turn, the couple lights a larger central candle, which represents the unity of their new family. This rite emphasises the importance of their personal identity that they will use to create and strengthen the relationship of marriage.
HANDFASTING RITUAL: During the ceremony, the celebrant ties the wrists of the couple so that the knot itself ties together all the dreams, love and happiness desired for the lives of the newlyweds, and symbolises the act of holding on to each other both in good and bad times.
These are just some of the most famous rituals, and since we talk about a totally personalised symbolic ceremony, nobody forbids to create a totally new ritual invented by yourself.
Ritual of the sand
Ritual of wine
Ritual of light
Handfasting ritual