Symbolic Ceremony Choices
Sand Ceremony
A sand ceremony is simple yet meaningful, easily customised, and the couple are left with a unique keepsake of the day. The symbolic pouring of coloured sands into a beautiful vase or a shadow box with layers of coloured sand added by other members of the family is a touching reminder of the vows made on the wedding day.
It is an unexpectedly lovely moment for your guests to witness – remember, they will most likely be expecting just the usual vows, ring exchange and a kiss.
Can also be part of naming/renaming ceremony.
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Unity Candle
The unity candle ceremony is one of the most well-known alternative unity ceremony ideas, and is a very romantic wedding ceremony that offers so many opportunities for you to make it unique and personal to you.
Unity candles are where there are two candlestick shaped candles on either side of a larger candle. Each partner lights their single candle at the start of the ceremony, which stays burning throughout.
At a later point the couple come forward and use their single candles to light the bigger middle one together. When two lights come together they burn stronger and brighter; this symbolises the strength that two people can bring by coming together in a relationship.
Can also be part of naming/renaming ceremony.
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Flower Ceremony
This is lovely for small weddings. Every guest is asked to bring a single flower (you can ask for a colour or a specific flower such as a rose) and before the bride makes her entrance two guests (usually the mothers, but it could be a bridesmaid's role) mingle with the guests to collect the flowers, resulting in two large bunches.
The bunches are then taken to the bride and arranged into a bouquet – could be one for the bride, or shared between the bridesmaids too. Then the bride can make her entrance carrying flowers gifted by all her guests – this is lovely for a festival type wedding or a wedding on a budget.
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Ring Warming
Ring warming is a great way for guests to be involved in your ceremony. Prior to the wedding commencing the best man or woman takes both of the wedding rings in a pouch or box and passes them around to each guest.
Each guest then gets to ‘warm’ or bless the rings with love and kind thoughts for the couple and their marriage. Once they’ve passed through all the guests’ hands, they go back to the front to be held until it’s time for the couple to exchange rings.
A very special moment as the rings are exchanged as they have blessed by the closest of your friend and family.
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Jump The Broom Ceremony
Jumping the broom is an ancient wedding ceremony tradition and a great way to involve children in your wedding ceremony as they can hold the broom!
This is often using alongside a handfasting wedding ceremony – the couple will have their hands bound together before they jump over the broom, which signifies leaving their single lives behind and jumping into their new married future together.
It’s a great wedding photo and at the end of the ceremony, the broomstick can be held at the exit point so all the guests can jump over it too!
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Handfasting Ceremony
Handfasting is the joining of the bride and groom’s hands and wrists using vines, cord, rope, or ribbon tied into a knot. It’s often said that this is where we get the expression “tying the knot" from.
You have a choice of involving just yourselves or to involve chosen loved ones to come forward with different coloured ribbons to place over the couple’s bound hands – this is a great part for children to be involved in.
This is often used alongside 'jumping the broom' and very well known in pagan ceremonies.
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Wishes Tree
This transform simple branches into a tree of wishes as your guests place messages of hopes, dreams and wishes onto the tree.
After the ceremony, collect the messages and keep in a decorative box as a lasting keepsake to read in the future.
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Circle of Support
Candles are used to represent love, unity and hope.
Invite guests to form a circle around parents and child, creating a physical representation of your community’s love. Each person holds a candle and takes turns sharing a hope, blessing, or promise of support.
As each person speaks, they light their candle from their neighbour’s flame until the circle glows completely – a powerful symbol of the continuous chain of love surrounding your child.
This ritual works beautifully combined with the Light of Love ceremony, especially at sunset when the candlelight creates a magical atmosphere.
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Adventure or Wish Jars
Fill a beautiful jar with dreams and wishes for future adventures. Family members write their hopes on paper scrolls – perhaps a wish to teach your child to sail, or dreams of future travels together.
Open the jar on special birthdays to discover these treasures and create new traditions. are used to represent love, unity and hope.
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Fingerprint Tree
Turn your ceremony into a collaborative masterpiece by creating art together.
Fingerprints form a family tree, colours mix to represent joining families, or abstract shapes capture the day’s emotions.
Ink stamps and stickers can also be used so that you can add initials.
The finished piece becomes both artwork and artefact, telling the story of your celebration in colour and form.
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