Ceremony elements can be included in your ceremony, but it’s important to say, a ceremony is just as beautiful with no elements.
A quick search on Pinterest will provide endless options! Here are some ideas to get started!
Time Capsule – Family members collect significant objects and place them in a time capsule to be opened on a set date.
Scrapbook – Family and friends are invited to write a message in a scrapbook; to bring photos of the parents when they were young, or bring their favourite song or poem.
Tree Planting – Soil is collected from the grandparents gardens and added to a sapling, then the guardians water the soil as a symbol of the commitment to support the child as they grow. The tree is then planted in your place of choice.
Letter Box – Parents, family and friends write a letter to the child and they are secured in a box to open at a later date. The box can be secured with ribbons of significant meaning.
Sand Ceremony – Different colour sands are mixed to symbolise the parent and guardians values and hope for the child’s future values. It represents inclusion of the new child into the family.
Hand Prints on Canvas – The child’s name is written in vinyl letters and stuck to a large canvas. Family and friends use different coloured paints to make a hand print on the canvas. When dry, the letters are removed and the child name will appear surrounded by family and friends!
Earth, Air, Fire and Water – Stones or glass pebbles are placed in a clear glass bowl or vase, to represent the earth, and water is then included. Sitting on the stones is a candle to represent fire. All guests blow the child a kiss, to represent air. The celebrant explains the meaning behind the different elements.
Fire – Vigorousness, zeal, enthusiasm, courage, decisiveness, power of creativity, daring
Air – Vigilance, care-freedom, kind-heartedness, trusting nature, clarity, lightness, independency, dexterity, optimism, diligence, acuity, joy, smiling
Water – Understanding, placidity, mildness, trusting nature, devotion, mercy, forgiveness, modesty, compassion.
Earth – Consistency, conscientiousness, perseverance, punctuality, caution, resistance, responsibility, carefulness, firmness, reliability, sobriety, ambition, respectfulness, matter-of-factness.
Creating and delivering a wedding ceremony, on one of the most important days in a couple’s life to that point, is an enormous responsibility. While many think the ability to perform a ceremony comes naturally, they do not realize the amount of preparation that goes on behind the scene. The hours I spend rehearsing and reviewing the ceremony or arriving at a venue two hours before kick off to ensure everything is ‘ship shape’, is never time wasted.