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Honoring Different Religions & Backgrounds in Your
Wedding Ceremony
by Christopher Rollings, Director of Creative
Wedding Ceremonies
Your Wedding, Your Way. It’s one of the most
important days of your life and your wedding
ceremony should be all that you want it to be, but
it may not always be easy.
Different religions, diverse backgrounds, in-law
relationships. These are all areas that may cause
difficulty when planning your wedding ceremony.
Combining diverse backgrounds and religions into a
beautiful, personalized ceremony may seem like an
impossible task at times, but by looking outside the
traditional venues and identifying important areas
for the both the bride and the groom, it can be
accomplished. Your wedding ceremony should honor
your backgrounds, while creating a beautiful
beginning for both the bride and groom and their
families.
Acknowledging your different faiths, styles and
traditions is your first step towards creating “Your
Wedding, Your Way.” This can be done by selecting
key elements from both the bride and the groom and
including them when you create your ceremony.
Remember, it’s your ceremony and it should reflect
the uniqueness of your relationship.
Prayers and readings are one way to include both of
your faiths in the ceremony. You can honor your
parents and family by having a member of each family
share a reading from their faith. In situations
where the bride or groom no longer practices the
religion, acknowledging the family’s faith helps to
bridge the gap.
Another way to include your family is by using a
special ritual in your ceremony such as the
“Presentation of the Rose” or the lighting of the
“Unity Candle.” The unity candle is a symbol of
family unity. Usually a single candle (representing
the newly married couple) is lit with two individual
candles, each representing the bride and groom's
families. This type of custom in the ceremony
acknowledges your past, while bringing together the
families for a new beginning.
Other traditions that can be used include the
“Breaking of the Glass”, “Vessel of the Rose”, “Huppah”,
“Releasing of the Doves” and of course, many others.
The Breaking of the Glass is a Jewish tradition that
represents the destruction of the temple in
Jerusalem and can also represent the fragileness and
special care that the marriage relationship
deserves. Many times couples save the pieces of
glass from the ceremony in a symbolic box. Releasing
of the Doves after the ceremony symbolizes love,
peace, prosperity and good luck for the bride and
groom. The Huppah is another Jewish tradition where
the ceremony takes place as the couple stands under
an ornamental canopy. This canopy symbolizes the
nomadic tents of Israel and the new home that the
couple will soon share.
For blended families, the “Family Medallion” is a
ritual that is used in ceremonies where children of
the bride or groom are involved. The coin represents
the beauty of the family and is given to the
children during the ceremony. Families may also
desire to give other personalized gifts or mementos
that reflect their love and appreciation.
Including these different pieces of the bride and
groom’s background simply builds the richness,
uniqueness and togetherness of the ceremony. It
allows both families to share their faiths and
backgrounds with the guests in a ceremony that
celebrates the past, while also creating and
celebrating a new union.
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