This is your time to create a ceremony to make memories that mean something to you and your loved ones. Take the opportunity to incorporate ancient traditions with creative rituals to express your authentic selves in your wedding ceremony

From Quaker to Celtic, from African to Chinese; it’s entirely up to you from where you draw your inspiration.

There’s no right or wrong. Have Granny as the flower girl, Dad as the best man, especially useful if there is a spare Dad. Make the kids part of the ceremony or have your pals walk you down the aisle.

Allow plenty of time to source unusual and original elements. It’s a good idea to involve your celebrant at each stage as we can help introduce trusted suppliers and make some suggestions based on our reservoir of experience and contacts.

Symbology in wedding traditions

Whether historical, religious or cultural, most wedding traditions have evolved from the premise of gathering, protecting and blessing.

Take inspiration from the old; mix in a dash of unpredictable. Or blend different cultures and nationalities to showcase your story together. In your circle of loved ones, perhaps have the youngest to the oldest give advice on what makes for a happy and successful union – or just the elders of the family pass on their wisdom for a happy life together.

Wedding ceremony themes

Many couples feel an affinity for a particular theme such as nature, food and wine or symbols, songs and words.

Nature: Use elements of fire, earth, air and water. Fire is easy to symbolise with candles, where you might enter with candles or your guests hold candles throughout the ceremony. Earth leads to thoughts of mixing soils from your birthplaces, growing seedlings and giving them to your guests. Asking guests to blow bubbles instead of throwing confetti is a simple way to incorporate both air and water.

Food and beverage: Dionysus, the god of wine, was also the god of faithful marriage. Incorporate wines, or even different beers, from regions or countries. Make your own.  Wine can be from the year or place you met and can be incorporated into the ceremony. You might design personalised labels for bottles and give them as gifts. A signature wedding cocktail could be great fun. Ask a mixologist for suggestions of the tastes and flavours. Jordan almonds, which originated in ancient Rome, symbolise the bitter and sweet of life and each guest is given five almonds to symbolise health, wealth, longevity, fertility and happiness. The Greeks have been doing it for millennia so it must be effective.

Cultural wedding symbols: Symbols are especially relevant if you represent different cultures; incorporating them shows respect to your antecedents and those not there on the day. To take one example, for thousands of years, Chinese families have asked a fortune teller to select an astrologically auspicious wedding date. Red and gold are part of every ceremony; the bride wears red for delight, and gold to symbolise wealth. If that’s too overwhelming, choose red as an accent colour or have something red woven into your outfits and give the guests a red shawl or kerchief to wear on the day – they’ll provide a unifying element that’s great for photography too. .

Art and words: There’s plenty of scope for word nerds, from the mixing of ink or water to love letters that the guests write to you as keepsakes, to be read at each anniversary. Have guests read out famous letters of love or incorporate your own. In this digital age, that might be your first Facebook or Insta post from when you went official or even a series of email declarations; it’s still a love story. Creative couples whose friends and family are creative could ask guests to create their own small artwork on the day that then fits together like a jigsaw and becomes a piece of art that the couple can keep. Commission your own font, or make your own paper.

Can we help with wedding rituals, symbology and ideas?

This is the one event in your lives that is entirely about you and it’s where your wedding celebrant’s input can be extra valuable. We suggest getting in touch with us early so we can workshop your ideas in plenty of time. Remember that the more elements you incorporate, the more run-throughs and practice sessions you’ll need. We can help you streamline your ceremony so you have all you need without the stress of trying to fit all the pieces together.