Did you know that couples who spend more than five hours per week together tend to have the most successful marriages? People who have deeply meaningful lifetime marriages understand the importance of connection. This is why it is such a good idea for couples to spend plenty of time together and to do plenty of things that they both enjoy.
The best way to honor and begin this commitment to connection is by holding wedding unity ceremonies. To help you understand how to hold unity ceremonies at weddings, we have created a guide. Keep reading to find out more.
The Date Kiss
In Korea, this is a well-known traditional unity ceremony. It can be part of what Koreans refer to as paebaek. To perform this unity ceremony, you must find a special date (the fruit). The couple will bite into the date together and whomever is the first to get to the pit will have the chance to make a wish for their lifelong love.
If you’re looking for the best date for the ceremony, the Medjool date is sometimes referred to as the “the king of dates,” and they are easy to find. It is also common to use an Ajwa date for a wedding date kiss. They are grown exclusively in Saudi Arabia.
The Veil Dance
The Schleiertanz, also known as the veil dance is a German wedding unity ceremony. At midnight during the wedding party, the bride’s veil is removed to signify her transition from bride to wife.
The bride and the groom may dance under her veil, and single women then rip pieces from the veil during the dance. It is said that whomever gets the largest piece will be the next to marry.
Wrapping Each Other In Blankets
This is one of the essential traditional unity ceremonies for many Native Americans. It involves placing a blanket or quilt around the shoulders of the newlyweds.
This gesture symbolizes warmth and union. The original Cherokee blanket ceremony is more complicated. It involves wrapping the bride and groom in their own blue blankets.
After an officiant offers a blessing for their union, somebody will shroud the couple in a single white blanket.
The blue symbolizes the aspects of each person’s past life. The white represents the couple’s commitment to fill one another with peace in their new lives together.
The Chinese Tea Ceremony
This is one of the most important parts of traditional Chinese weddings. During this ceremony, the bride and groom will serve tea to their elders. The elders will offer advice and blessings.
There are many ways to perform this ceremony, but it usually takes place a few moments before a couple officially gets married. It is common for people to add ingredients such as lotus seeds and red dates to the tea that they serve.
The Sweetbread Gift
It is a Russian tradition for wedding guests to gift the newlywed bride and groom a sweetbread that is called shkaravaya. It usually has a motif of interlocking rings which represent abundance and commitment.
The bride and groom need to take a bit of the bread without using their hands. It is believed that whoever takes the biggest bite will be the head of the household.
Passing the Rope
Passing the rope is an ancient Celtic tradition that people have been practicing for more than two thousand years.
To perform this ceremony, you’ll need to pass a rope around to each wedding attendee. It is a great ceremony for those who want to invite attendees to participate in the unity ceremony.
By touching the rope, each attendee is offering their commitment to supporting the union. Once every attendee has touched the rope, somebody will need to take it to the couple.
They will braid the rope together to symbolize their union.
Lighting a Unity Candle
This is a well-known unity ceremony for those who follow the Judeo-Christian tradition. The groom and bride will each hold candles and light them. They will then bring their flames together by lighting a third candle.
It is common for the families of the bride and the groom to perform this ritual instead of the bride and the groom themselves in order to symbolize the union of the two families.
It is also possible to invite other wedding attendees to participate in this wedding ceremony.
You can do this by placing candles at the ceremony entrance. Invite each person to light one of these candles and offer a blessing while they enter the ceremony room.
The Lasso Ceremony
People from Spain and Mexico have been holding this union ceremony for many years. This is why it is one of the top wedding ideas for couples who have ancestry from one of these countries.
After the bride and groom say their vows, the wedding officiant will lay two linked rosaries or a single floral rope along the shoulders of the couple. The lasso should be in the form a figure eight.
This shape symbolizes the couple’s unity. The bride and groom will then wear this lasso for the entire ceremony.
The person who placed it on their shoulders will need to be the one to remove it as a way to remind the couple of their commitment to one another.
The Importance of Wedding Unity Ceremonies
If you have been trying to figure out how to celebrate the unity between the bride and a groom at a wedding, it’s important to know about the best wedding unity ceremonies.
Are you looking for the perfect destination for holding your wedding? If so, the Madison Event Center is ready to help you with every part of planning your wedding. Don’t hesitate to schedule a tour today.