We’ve all seen the unity candle and sand ceremonies at numerous weeding celebrations. I love the idea of joining two lives into one. The issue, however, is that the unity candle and sand ceremonies are so very typical and a bit cliché’. We’ve seen them so very often, that it’s sometimes hard to realized that there are other options out there. Both the unity candle and sand ceremonies can be extremely difficult to accomplish during outdoor ceremonies, especially when the wind is very high. The candles have a hard time staying lit and sometimes the sand gets blown around and can get in your eyes.
Nowadays, brides are being very creative with their entire wedding day; liking to tailor it to their own style. For my brides, I love to suggest different ways to show that the couple is bringing two lives together to create one. Today, I’m showing my top 5 alternatives to the unity candle and sand ceremonies. Maybe you’ll like one enough to incorporate into your wedding ceremony. Happy planning!
First, the wine ceremony or “mingling of waters”. This is a ceremony where the bride and groom have two separate bottles of wine and they poor them into one decanter in the middle and take a drink of it. This is a great idea because separating the two liquids are highly unlikely. This is especially great for the wine lovers. You just want to make sure that you get wines that pair well together.
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Image Courtesy of: The Knot
Another favorite of mine is the unity cross. The unity cross has a little dainty feminine cross that’s placed inside of a more sturdy man’s cross. This symbolizes a sense of protection that the man has over the wife as well as the two becoming together to create one piece of art.
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Image Courtesy of: Neysa Ruhl Photography
There’s also the love locks, tree of life, ceremony. This ceremony is more of uniting two families, which is similar to the unity candle. Since the mothers of the bride and groom light the single candles that will form one unity. The love locks ceremony has the couple and their parents put an engraved padlock on the tree of life. The parents are the foundation, in which the bride and groom have come from. The love lock from the bride and groom represents a strong commitment, a promise to love, and unity.
Image Courtesy of: Love Locks
Image Courtesy of: Love Locks
One of my personal favorites is the 3-stranded cord. We all have family and friends, wanting to offer advice on our relationships. Although we don’t want to exclude them from our lives, I strongly believe that the bulk of your marriage should be the bride and groom, along with the “higher being” that you look up to. The gold strand represents God, the white strand represents the bride and the purity of her, and the purple strand represents the groom. The message behind the 3-stranded cord is: “One may be overpowered, two may defend themselves, but a 3-stranded cord is not easily broken”. You can often get them in colors that resent your wedding colors.
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Lastly, another favorite of mine, the tasting of the elements. The tradition is derived from an African culture, where the bride and groom tastes each of the four elements during the ceremony. The elements range from bitter to sweet; a lemon wedge, vinegar, cayenne pepper, and honey. Tasting the sour lemon represents the fact that all of life isn’t perfect. The bitter vinegar represents the fact that there will be moments of denial and rejection in life. The cayenne pepper represents the spice and passion that every relationship should have. Lastly, the sweet honey represents the sweetness of married life in all of it’s stages.
Image Courtesy of: Trystan Photography
Image Courtesy of: The Knot
Lissahn DeVance is a contributor for Munaluchi Bride Online and owner of Atlanta Wedding Planning company, Enraptured Events. To keep up with her, follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
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