Unity Ceremonies
Are you looking for something unique and personal to you for your wedding ceremony?
A unity ceremony is a symbolic ritual woven into your wedding ceremony. Among the most common unity ceremonies are handfasting and the lighting of a unity candle. This Ceremony can be a beautiful way of enhancing your vows to each other as you say ‘I do’.
Here in Cyprus you can hire a celebrant to personalise your wedding service or even ask a family member or close friend to help you personalise your day in addition to the registrar performing your legal ceremony.
Sand Ceremony
The meaning of this ceremony is simply ‘two become one’. As you mix two different colour sands in to one container, symbolising your lives and hearts entwining. Once combined the sand would be difficult to ever separate again just as shown with the love between bride and groom.
This can be a lovely way to involve loved ones also if you choose to include your children in this ceremony and can add extra colours or have them help to pour each colour with you. Or you could even add glitter for one or more of the people pouring to give the final jar an extra sparkle.
This can take place at any time of your ceremony, but works best at the end, bringing your ceremony to a close in togetherness, united as one. The containers including the bride and groom sand would be placed on the ceremony table ready to pour at their chosen time. The couple will take turns to pour some of their sand in to the container separately then together to watch the sands mix together.
A lovely way to help make this ceremony even more unique is to have the container personalised before your wedding so that this is something you can keep as a memory and display at home forever more.
The sand could be collected from your favourite beaches or maybe the beach you marry on or nearby to make this even more special.
Water Ceremony
As with the sand ceremony this ceremony symbolises when two become one.
The ceremony blends two different colours together. It is best to make sure that you experiment for this ceremony to make sure that the final colour is one of your choice, that you both like. This could be a mix of light versions of the same colours to make one darker version. Or you could use two completely different colours to fuse together making a different colour when united. Adding something like glitter can also bring something different to the mix.
As with the sand ceremony this can take place at any time and will have the containers set out ready to pour in your liquids. To make it more special have a unique or personalised container to pour into and then perhaps display in a special decanter when home.
Flower Ceremony
One of the most popular flower ceremonies is the rose ceremony. As roses are a traditional symbol of love, many see this as the perfect flower to use in their ceremony.
Each of you and any family or friends you wish to include will have one rose. Usually red roses are chosen to symbolise love and family members could have a different colour rose. The couple will then swap their roses as their first gift to each other before placing them into a vase. Anyone who is joining you can then also add their roses to the vase.
This ceremony doesn’t have to be with roses and can be carried out with your favourite choice of flower. If everyone has a different colour flower or even greenery like eucalyptus it will make a colourful arrangement of flowers.
You could also make this more unique and a special part of your day by adding a small note on ribbon and attach to each flower. Whether this ribbon is written from yourselves to each other, from your guests to you, or from you to your guests to read as they are handed out to be placed into the vase it will make the ceremony more personal to you on your day and a beautiful memory to treasure forever.
As something different if you are having a more boho style wedding you could ask each guest to bring a single flower in your wedding colours or let them choose their favourite flower that reminds them of you. These will then be collected just before the wedding ceremony and strung together to arrange either a bouquet for the bride to walk down the aisle, smaller bouquets for bridesmaids, or even a centre piece for the ceremony table.
Candle Lighting
This traditional unity ceremony is perfect for any wedding couple looking for classic traditions.
The ceremony includes both the bride and groom lighting the unity candle together when the two lights come together, they burn stronger and brighter. This is a symbolism of the couple’s relationship coming together in marriage.
The traditional way this ceremony is performed three candles are placed at the altar including two taper candles and one large candle, the unity candle. At the beginning of the ceremony a member of each family or friend will light one of the taper candles. Once you have exchanged your vows each of you take one of the candles and will use them at the same time to light the unity candle together.
This ceremony could also be performed after the official wedding ceremony. The couple could alternatively light each other candles and then use their candles to light the ‘unity candle’ together.
This ceremony could be made more unique with personalised candles or candle stands that can be used again or kept as a memory after your wedding.
For those having your wedding ceremony outside you need to consider weather conditions as a small amount of wind could blow the candles out, hurricane lamps maybe useful to hold your candles during your ceremony so they stay lit.
Seal an Anniversary Box
This tradition is a lovely way to keep a piece of your wedding day continuing forever.
In this ceremony you will have one box in which you plan to seal and open on a specified date, perhaps your anniversary each year to treasure and reflect on memories of your special day and love for each other. This box could be custom made just for you or maybe you have a special keepsake you could use that can be sealed for a long time.
This tradition can be made more special by including handwritten love notes from each other and could include a bottle of wine or candle etc to use once opened. You could also include memorabilia from your relationship so far to bring back lovely memories when you open the box together. You could even include a small gift to each other.
The box could be sealed in any way you like from a beautifully tied ribbon, to hammer and nails or a simple lock and key.
During the ceremony you could have someone close to you read why you are adding specific items to your ceremony box, why it’s special to you and why you want to remember these loving things in the years to come.
Create a Cocktail
Something new and modern to add to the mix. This ceremony will bring something unique to not only your ceremony, but your taste buds too.
Whether you create something completely new for you both to drink or whether you choose a classic cocktail you have always loved. This ceremony brings you both together to give you the chance to make something as your first act together as husband and wife. If you doesn’t like cocktails this could also be done with different beers or your favourite beverage that will complement each other. You could both make the same drink or make each other a separate drink to cheers with together.
This ceremony could be made more unique by including personalised glasses that can be used after your wedding and as keepsakes as a lovely memory of your day.
It is best to find single servings of each of the ingredients needed to make your chosen drink so you can pour them out easily into a shaker or glass of choice. It is best to choose something simple and easy to make so that you can make and pour this together effortlessly. Whatever you chose to make your wedding ceremony unique to you, let us know and we will help to arrange it for you.
For further information contact Hannah and Nicki:
info@intimateweddingscyprus.com
