My West Michigan Wedding
marriage ceremonies officiated by
Tom F. Hamel
Your Subtitle text
Designing Your Ceremony
An important role of the
officiant is to give you guidance in crafting your wedding ceremony,
often following a predetermined format. If needed, I can give you advice on creating a memorable and personal wedding
ceremony. However, generally speaking, these are the key
elements:
These elements are key to a meaningful and complete ceremony; however, you may want to consider adding other meaningful elements suggested below.
- Greeting - I welcome the couple and guests to a celebration of the love and commitment between the couple. I also say a few words about marriage in general.
- Address - This is a time for a few brief words of encouragement to the couple before they make their commitment to each other.
- The Question - I ask the couple at this point if they are willing and ready to enter into marriage.
- Vows - This is the part where the couple declare their intent to be a married couple. They make promises to each other about what that commitment means to them. Couples may choose from pre-written vows or they may choose to write their own vows.
- Ring Exchange - After a brief explanation on the meaning an symbol of the rings, the couple exchanges the rings they have chosen for each other.
- Pronouncement of Marriage - I announce to all that the couple is now married and invite the couple to kiss, proclaiming their love.
- Marriage Blessing - I speak a traditional blessing taken from the scriptures, asking the blessing of God over your marriage.
These elements are key to a meaningful and complete ceremony; however, you may want to consider adding other meaningful elements suggested below.
- Light a unity candle
- Exchange a rose as a first gift
- Sand ceremonies are nice for beach weddings
- Read a favorite portion of scripture
- Share a song that really says how you feel
- Have a close friend share poetry or a reading
