Category — Wedding Ceremony

“Something old, something new
Something borrowed and something blue”

Wedding traditions are weird to begin with. The tradition of having a bride wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue on her wedding day dates back to Victorian England. “Something old” represents the family and past she is leaving behind; “something new” represents their new future together; “something borrowed” was an object from a happily married woman whose good fortune would rub off on the bride; and the “something blue” represented purity.

But there are far weirder wedding traditions than this one…

Blackening the Bride - In northern Scotland, the bride is “blackened” before her wedding, as demonstrated in this lovely YouTube video. Friends and family dump goo mixed from soup, fish, eggs, cheese, and whatever sticky mess they can come up with over the head of a willing bride. Supposedly it comes from the tradition of washing the feet of brides to make them clean. Of course, it’s more fun if you get them really, really DIRTY first.

Breaking Dishes - Oh, what fun to break dishes before a German wedding! All the effort and trouble the bride and groom will have picking up the pieces is supposed to enrich their marriage. Yep. At least we can hope they had dishes on their registry.

Kidnapping the Bride - I witnessed this Russian tradition myself. When the groom isn’t looking, the guests (usually his trusty groomsmen) “kidnap” the bride. The groom is then required to perform three tasks to get her back. In this case, he had to a) drink three shots of vodka (or have his Best Man drink six, b) publicly proclaim his love for his bride, c) break dance. In our case, the groom, who was already drunk, compromised and drank one shot of vodka, shouted his undying love into the microphone (ouch) and break danced to “Ice Ice Baby.”

More of the World’s Weirdest Wedding Traditions in this entertaining post.

What’s your weirdest wedding experience? Leave me a comment. (Or a confession.)

Photo by K-Rol Omar

There is an intense pressure to have a “traditional” wedding ceremony.  Let’s face it: it’s a big part of dealing with trying to make everyone happy…especially when it comes to parents.

My grandmother was devoutly Catholic, and while she did her best to be supportive, in her eyes those of her children who weren’t married in the Catholic church weren’t really married.

According to the director of the Association for Wedding Professionals International, there is a new trend toward weddings incorporating traditional, ethnic marriage traditions into ceremonies.

The recent New York Times article “Different Rules For Different Cultures: Be Prepared” describes some humorous and embarrassing moments for guests attending a wedding that included traditional, ethnic marriage traditions that were unfamiliar to them.  One guest dressed too formally for a Hindu wedding ceremony, then dressed too casually for the reception the next day.  Another horrified her date by trying to imitate the gyrating dance moves of the women at a Pakistani wedding.

If you plan to incorporate wedding traditions and customs from other cultures, it’s best to give your guests the head’s up…unless you enjoy watching your guests suffer embarrassing moments.  A few ways to clue them in:

The Invitations - If you’re wedding or reception requires non traditional wedding attire, inform your guests on the invitation.  For example, “Modest attire requested.”

Explain the Ritual - To include your guests and help them appreciate the significance of unfamiliar wedding traditions, have your officiant explain the meaning behind the rituals.  For instance, it’s a tradition at some Indian weddings to steal the groom’s shoes at the ceremony.  If you don’t explain what’s going on, your guests are likely to feel left out…and think you’ve got a family full of kleptomaniacs.

Draw Them a Map - If the cultural traditions you’ve chosen for your wedding ceremony are extremely elaborate and involved, type up an explanation in a program or send a flow chart of events to your guests beforehand.  Though they may look like a bunch of tourists reading their notes in church, they’ll thank you for it.

What traditions are you including for your wedding ceremony?  Leave me a comment.

Photo by Stephen Durham

The wedding ceremony has a vast, rich tradition.  Or non tradition, as the case may be.

Most Christian ceremonies make up the shortest part of the wedding reception, but they can also be the most meaningful.  This is one part of your wedding day where you can really make a statement about your uniqueness, pay tribute to your family and religious traditions, and touch the hearts of your guests with the commitment of your love.

Will you have your wedding traditional…or do you prefer a non traditional wedding?

Photo by Ted Ollikkala

You don’t need to be bound by traditional wedding ideas such as the ring ceremony and the unity candle.  MySpiritualWedding.com suggests dozens of different and unique ceremony ideas from various traditions…and you can buy the accessories you need in one place.

I learned about MySpiritualWedding.com from my officiant friend the Reverend David James.  As a service to his couples, the Reverend began collecting unique wedding ceremony ideas, traditions and rituals that could be included.  He searched the internet and quickly realized that NO ONE had put these ideas together in one place.

That’s how MySpiritualWedding.com was born.  Since then, he’s added resources to purchase any of the accessories you need to incorporate these unique traditions into your day and articles to explain many of the traditions.

Here are some of my favorite ceremony traditions:

The Sand Ceremony - It’s “sand art” with meaning.  A symbolic representation of the blending of lives between husband, wife and family that occurs with a wedding.

Handfasting Ceremony - Ribbons are twined around the hands of bride and groom in an ancient Celtic tradition that symbolizes the binding of two lives.

Indian Wedding Vase Ceremony - A Native American tradition, the couple drinks from the vase, symbolizing two individuals becoming one.

Blended Family Ceremony - Ceremonies use medallions, rings or necklaces for blended family weddings to include the children in your bond.

What traditions are you including in your ceremony?  Leave me a comment.