Need help with ceremony

how about a sand ceremony in your wedding colors and its also something you could keep for many years to come

Hi Ivery,

We did a unity sand ceremony at our wedding. The unity sand ceremony is usually done outdoors because of the wind factor instead of lighting a unity candle. You can see the pics and read the words for it on our website. The remembrance candle for your mothers is also a great idea. I was also reading on this website about a tasting ceremony.

The info. below was posted under [Forums: Ceremony: Tasting Ceremony]
There's more posts on that pages. Depending on your church, they might not allow it.

Re: Tasting Ceremony

Posted on: 05/18/2006 09:13 AM
Hi Stdj1104. I have heard of the Yoruba Tasting Ceremony. If anyone wants to know it is a ritual in which the bride and groom tast four flavors that represent different emotions within a relationship. The four flavors that are usually used are sour (lemon), bitter (vinegar), hot (cayenne), and sweet (honey). By tasting each of the flavors, the couple symbolically demonstrates that they will be able to make it through the hard times in life, and in the end, enjoy the sweetness of marraige.

Ivery, how long do you have the church for? Because if you're paying a lot of money for it, you might as well blow it up as well and have a fabu wedding.

I don't know how many attendants that you will have. But you could start out by having a little interlude in the beginning ~ prerecorded love songs that's playing about an hour our half an hour prior to your walk down the aisle. Then, there would be your procession down the aisle with your honor attendants and you. You could also incorporate a ritual called "The Blessing Of The Hands". My FH and I are doing that. YOu could also choose to have some soloists sing your favorite gospel song. You could have someone read a poem or a scripture from the bilble. You could do the Unity Candle or if you're uniting two families (if you have children and he has children and you're merging the family) you could do the sand ceremony.

Wow, there are endless things that you could do, once you figure on the time factor. God luck to you sister and if you should need further ideas, we're all here for you. just ask

Yes, poetry readings, Bible readings, soloist singing..are always nice touches. But don't incorporate too many of them because people don't like sitting through long ceremonies. Strive for a half hour or less.

[quote="VIPrincessBride"]Yes, poetry readings, Bible readings, soloist singing..are always nice touches. But don't incorporate too many of them because people don't like sitting through long ceremonies. Strive for a half hour or less.
[/quote]

I agree that people don't like sitting through long ceremonies but I think striving for half hour or less seems to short, almost rushed. When incorporating the things Ginoue suggested, the ceremony is much more memorable and if properly planned and executed, it shouldn't last but about 45 minutes which is average.

I actually worked part-time at a castle here in Maryland where weddings were performed every weekend and sometimes during the week. The average ceremony was 30 minutes long. That time is not rushed at all because so much can happen in that time. For example, a 5-minute speech may seem like a short time, but for the speaker and the audience, that's a long time to stand in front of the audience and talk as he/she can say a lot in that time.

We had a soloist sing for my processional, a steel panist played before and during the ladies of honor processional, the minister read scripture and a prayer to bless the marriage, we said our own vows in addition to the traditional vows, and we had a unity sand ceremony. So, no one read poetry and no one sang after the ceremony started. We didn't do everything under the sun. We chose some things and left some things. Everything was done very slowly--reading, speaking, walking to and from the unity sand table. At times it seemed that we were moving in slow motion. Yet, surprisingly, it wasn't longer than a half hour. I heard guests comment that it was beautiful, romantic, and they were glad that it wasn't too long.

If you have a long ceremony just because of the amount paid, you risk wearing out and turning off your guests...even worse if you happen to start very late. It will be memorable because what they will remember is that you had a long ceremony. They won't tell you to your face, of course. It's a wedding not regular Sunday service. Have a beautiful ceremony that suits your tastes, and take up the time taking beautiful photos with your family and friends.

BTW, you're right that you say you are paying too much money for using that church. It's a church for goodness sakes! That's waaaay too commercial of them.