Rituals in Multicultural Weddings

The trend in the last few years in GTA weddings is to artistically blend and feature elements of each distinct culture or religion of the bridal couple’s family circles. This creates the opportunity for many visually interesting and meaningful rituals to be sourced from the diversity of all the cultures and faiths blended in the GTA. Recently, I officiated at a Persian/Hindu wedding. One of the Persian rituals has the bridal couple sitting on the “bench”. This bench is a very important element of any traditional Persian wedding day ceremony. Also, the same couple decided not to do another ritual - the “Sofreh-ye-Aghd”. There is tremendous history and heritage behind all rituals within a culture, but to fully honour each one would have taken a very long time. The couple decided to only focus on the “bench” ritual honouring her Persian family, and on one ritual from the groom’s Hindu background. In a very contemporary and innovative fashion they uniquely combined the exchange of rings and the exchange of flower wreaths at that same point in their modern and blended cultural wedding service. Yes, both family circles were very pleased to be honoured and represented!

Microphones and Ceremonies: What to Do

So many couples say they do not want microphones in their outside wedding services. But, from my experience, microphones are wonderful! You have spent so much time planning a beautiful and meaningful service, and it is important that everyone hears your vows, besides the family members in the first few front rows. I have even had experiences where microphones saved the day. I recently Officiated at a country outdoor wedding. During the service, a “neighbour” in a field next door practiced playing his bagpipe. In our opinion, he had a lot of practicing to do before he would be playing at anyone’s wedding! Luckily, we had a microphone and we were fine. (Yes, there was a lot of giggling and chuckling going on because he continued to practice throughout the whole service.) Without a microphone, his practice would have turned the ceremony into a comedy skit at the expense of the couple. Everyone was able to hear clearly the bridal couple’s moving and tender vows. Every outdoor venue has its own needs. For example, in a huge and beautiful expansive place like Graydon Hall Manor you must really have a microphone for outside ceremonies. A windy day with no microphone is very frustrating for your family and friends. As you can see, microphones are a great help! They are a wonderful invention and make a stunning outside wedding location very personable, and totally assist in engaging your guests in your love story. This photo is from Nicole & Adam’s elegant Graydon Hall wedding.

The Beauty of a Boat Wedding

What could be more romantic than a couple, very in love, floating around on a four masted schooner on a beautiful summer evening? Even better is to have along the very closest and dearest people in your life, for an intimate summer eve's boat wedding. The experience will last a lifetime. I officiated at such a wedding. The evening was great: the weather was good! The children adored the adventure of running around the historic schooner, Kajama, which was very comfortable, elegant and huge! What a treat! The romantic service was held at the bow of the boat. An intimate dinner was served downstairs, and afterwards, desserts were served upstairs on the deck under the stars. Dancing followed on deck with a great deejay playing just the right tunes to create a memorable evening for all. Going past the Toronto skyline with all its beauty of the dramatic lights was also a treat. Everyone present had an amazing wedding experience! I loved being the “floating” Officiant for this family focused, wedding adventure.

Wedding on the Kajama, photo - Ron Wood, Heartline Pictures

Wedding on the Kajama, photo - Ron Wood, Heartline Pictures

 


Unity Candles

This ritual is originally from the traditional Catholic wedding services, but has quickly become modern and very popular with the blends of multicultural elements and different religions. Lighting candles is a beautiful ritual and can be very adaptable for almost any wedding situation. The passage read by the Officiant can be from religious vocabulary or more non-denominational in tone. Even better is to write something that beautifully expresses the uniqueness of the couple’s blend of cultures or diversity. The passage can be written to feature two Mothers, or even Grandparents that are there and can be part of the wedding day’s happiness. Another possibility is to choose other family members coming forward to symbolically demonstrate their support of these two very diverse religions or cultures coming together. If there is a child in the immediate family circle of bride and groom, that child can have a personal moment as they are asked to come forward to light their “special” candle beside the groom’s and bride’s. Yes, children have always loved the magic of lighting a candle. Be sure to tell your photographer that you would love photos of each family member involved in the unity candle ritual. These are important memories in the years to come.