Wedding rituals are a great way to add a unique flair to your wedding day. Even if the rituals you implement are time-tested traditions, they are a representation of your unique character. Your wedding is also an opportunity to start a new tradition that can be carried on for generations to come. In this post, we will explore how wedding rituals are not only a piece of a long-held tradition but can help you tell a part of your own story in your wedding celebration.
How Wedding Rituals Add Meaning to Ceremonies
Something that is always worth emphasizing when having a conversation about wedding planning is that it is important to remember that you are the most important part of your big day. As you and your guests celebrate the intertwining of two lives and one, it is always important to understand what makes the couple who they are. With that in mind, you can draw inspiration from your family heritage or other family wedding rituals to communicate to your guests what makes you who you are.
Another fantastic influence that you can draw inspiration from to construct your own wedding ritual is your faith. At Camp Hosea, we stand on the truth that God has instituted marriage to be a representation of His relationship with the church. You could implement wedding rituals that reiterate the truth of the gospel and demonstrate the thing that animates your life on a daily basis– that being your faith.
Wedding Customs That Honor Your Heritage
Many cultures have wedding customs that couples include to honor their heritage. These wedding customs are often associated with a ceremony element serving as a given culture’s expression of what they understand marriage to be. Cultural customs can also expand outside of the ceremony time and can inspire the cuisine during dinner and the reception. Or these wedding customs may include a certain kind of attire that the couple and wedding party could wear.
Your heritage may not necessarily come from your culture– maybe your family had a significant legacy that you would like to honor at your wedding. Wedding customs could focus on a family legacy of public service or work in a particular field. It could also be built around a family history of working hard to stick together and make ends meet. Or your tradition could be as simple as a beloved family board game that all would gather around to play on a Friday night.
Symbolic Wedding Gestures for a Personal Touch
It is often said that our actions speak louder than our words– as you are trying to communicate your love to your guests and to your spouse, sometimes simple gestures communicate more than what can be spoken by mouth. Taking some time to include some simple wedding gestures can help convey the significance of the promise being made on your wedding day. These personal touches can take a special day and turn it into a day that is deeply consequential within the story of your life.
An example of a personal gesture that you could include on your wedding day would be a foot-washing ceremony. This idea comes out of the Gospel account of the Last Supper where Jesus washes his disciples' feet. Perhaps the most significant part of the story is when Peter insists that he must wash Jesus’ feet. But Jesus replies that this is a demonstration of the Son of Man coming to serve those whom he made in his image; a picture of the gospel itself. Likewise, in Ephesians 5, Paul calls husbands to love their wives as “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”. A foot-washing ceremony would give the husband an opportunity to demonstrate a love for his wife, loving her the way that Christ self-sacrificially loved the church.
Love Traditions That Unite Families and Cultures
As important as you are in your own wedding, it should not be overlooked that the families of the bride and groom are also being united through the covenant of marriage. A fantastic way to recognize the coming together of the two families is by including traditions from the respective cultures of the bride and groom. This will offer an opportunity for the two families to observe the love traditions of the other culture.
These traditions will demonstrate how love reaches across familial and cultural boundaries. Finding ways to include love traditions will help bridge the gaps between the two families. These traditions will speak volumes about the love that you and your spouse share and how it will bring together not only two individuals but also two entire families along with them.
At Camp Hosea, we love seeing how our couples convey their love for one another to the world. We would be honored if you would share your wedding day with the Camp Hosea family. If you would like to learn more about our venue, please reach out to us at our Contact Us page. We look forward to getting to know you!
Photos:
- Leslie + Nich - Elaine Michelle Photo
- Lilly + Cole - Rissa Reels
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