The two of you are special. There has never been any couple quite like you. Your story is unique, how you feel about each other is unique, what you want in your marriage is different from what anyone else wants. And you would like your wedding ceremony to be as special, unique and memorable as you are.
Here are seven unique wedding ceremony ideas to make that happen:
1. Tell your love story
Start your ceremony with the story of how you met and what happened next, and all the adventures, challenges and triumphs that led you to today, your wedding day. Bonus: the celebrant can only tell those parts of your story that you send her – you have complete control of the contents.
2. Write your own wedding vows
Nothing says unique, special and wonderful like writing your own vows and saying them to your beloved. There are masses of online resources for that. But the best resource by far is your own heart – what are your feelings for this marvellous person you’re marrying? What promises do you want to make for your future together? Put your feelings into words and say them, or whisper them, at your wedding ceremony.
3. Include pets at your wedding
For some couples, their pet is a major part of their family. Your dog (or cat) can be the ringbearer (or even a bridesmaid, as one couple did, with their dog wearing a pink frilly dress in the same shade as the rest of the wedding party). It’s a great opportunity for joy and laughter, and the fun of dressing up your pet in ribbons, bows or tux. And you can reward the ringbearer with a special treat for doing the job well. Guaranteed to charm all your guests and to be a memory you will all treasure.
4. Create wedding rituals
Are there wedding rituals and traditions from your religious or cultural heritage, that you’d like to include in your ceremony? Or are there rituals you have heard of or seen that resonate with you? If so, weave them into the ceremony, with a word of explanation from the celebrant so that the guests know what the rituals symbolise and why they are there.
5. Exchange symbolic items that are meaningful to you
Here’s where you can really let your creativity and imagination loose. Are you a couple who likes to travel? As well as rings, you could exchange compasses, to symbolise how you will always be each other’s True North, and that you will continue to travel together throughout your lives. Are you cooks? Exchange spoons, to show you will always nourish each other. Exchange beautiful stones to symbolise that you are each other’s strong rock and foundation. Have fun thinking about what item symbolises your relationship. And then work with the celebrant to include it in your ceremony in a meaningful way.
6. Stage or locate the ceremony in a different way
Forget the standard theatre style of seating for your wedding ceremony. Why not arrange the chairs in the round, or in a diamond shape or semi-circle. How about holding the ceremony under a tree, beside a lake or waterfall, in the garden of your home, in a natural amphitheatre? With a celebrant-led ceremony, you can have your wedding anywhere
7. Hold your wedding ceremony at an unusual time of day
You could get married at dawn or sunset on the beach, at breakfast time in the garden or a forest, at teatime in a beautiful garden, at midnight under the stars.
Your wedding ceremony should be as special and unique as you are. With a celebrant-led ceremony, if you dream it, you can make it happen. So, enjoy daydreaming to your hearts’ content.
