An important part of your wedding, for many couples, is that they are sharing their love and commitment to each other in front of family and friends. Guests are there to support and celebrate your union. Having your guests involved in your wedding ceremony can be a beautiful and meaningful part of your ceremony.
Incorporating your guests in your wedding ceremony can involve everyone together or you can assign job to individuals.
Here are some suggestions on how to make your guests feel part of your special day.
Readings
No surprises here! Readings and poetry give your wedding ceremony dept and a personal touch, as you choose readings and poetry that suit your personalities and styles. Ask guests, family or friends, from both families to read during your ceremony. In a celebrant led wedding ceremony there are no restrictions on what you choose for your readings, so stretch your imagination. Checkout my blog on readings and poetry suggestions for your wedding ceremony.
Candle Ceremony
One of the most popular enhancements to include in your wedding ceremony. The traditional way to include your guests is to ask the mothers of the couple to light the outer candles, which represent the couple as individuals but also the coming together of two families through the union of marriage. But of course, it doesn’t always need to be the mothers. Ask someone, whether family or friends, from each side to light the candles.
Another beautiful way to include all your guests is to ask each of your guests to light a candle for you. As your guests enter give them an unlit candle. At a particular point in the ceremony the first of the guest’s candles are lit by the couple, from which the light is passed from candle to candle to each guest. Once the final two guests have their candles lit, they bring forward the candles to light the couple’s candles. In this way the light from each of your guests, a long with wishes of good luck and fortune are passed from guest to guest and finally to you.
Handfasting
Handfasting is another ceremony enhancement that you can do on your own or with your guests. You can ask guests from each family to bring forward different ribbons of different colour to add to your ribbon(s). Each of the coloured ribbons brought forward represents the values that you both will bring to the marriage or the wishes and blessing from both your families.
Rose Ceremony
There are several variations to this beautiful, meaningful ritual which represents the gift of love. To perform a Rose Ceremony, three vases are placed on the ceremony table, one large central vase and two smaller vases on either side. The rose has always been the flower that represents love, and this ceremony symbolises the couple’s love for each other and the joining of two families.
A Rose Ceremony may involve just the Bride and Groom, where they present a red rose to each other as their first gift after being pronounced as husband and wife.
However, it is equally wonderful when this ceremony involves guests, typically female family members, although any guests can take part. The chosen guests are invited to join the bride and groom in the ceremony area, and they are each presented with a single rose, these can be the same colour as the couple’s roses, or the couple may choose different colours for each side of the family, or for different family members.
The Bride and Groom then place their red roses in the side vases and the family members then approach one by one and place their roses in the central vase which symbolises the joining together of two families. The Bride and Groom then take their individual roses from the side vases and exchange them as their first gift to each other as husband and wife and then place them in the large central vase to symbolise family unity.
Ring Warming Ceremony
Also known as Blessing of the Rings; this is a beautiful ritual and involves the rings being “warmed with positive energy, good wishes and loving thoughts” as they are passed between your chosen guests. It makes your wedding rings so much more meaningful as when they finally reach you, they will contain not only the love you have for each other, but also the love and blessings from the special people in your lives.