I can finally say that we’ve booked our officiant! This was no
easy feat as we were looking for something very specific! i.e. 1)
not affiliated with any religious group, 2) willing to customize the ceremony however we wanted, 3) have a voice that could grab the attention of everyone in the
room, 4) have positive reviews on weddingwire.com, 5) be affiliated
with a company that provides a back-up in case of emergency, 6) have
a system to help obtain the marriage license (since the fiancé and I live on
the other side of the world).
We (I) finally decided on Oscar Limonta from Sensational Ceremonies.
Maybe it’s weird to be so picky about the officiant…. Actually, no! It’s not!
He’s going to be leading the whole ceremony! Anyway, he has a super deep voice
and a thick Spanish accent. Love it. Adds to our Global/International theme. My bridal party is going to look like a Benneton ad, so he will fit
right in.
Now onto the ceremony “script”. My aim is to personalize the ceremony as much as possible. The key is to find ways for our ceremony to be unique without being corny/ridiculous/cheesy. Ideas so far…
Parent Vows
The officiant will say something to the parents of the bride and groom to show that they approve of and support the marriage. Something like.. “Do you, as mother and father of the bride/groom, approve of and support this marriage? Do you promise to encourage your daughter/son to the best husband/wife that he/she can be? And finally, do you accept bride’s name/groom’s name into your family and intent to honor her/him as such?” to which the parents would reply “we do” each time.
Best Man/ Maid of Honor Vows
The officiant will say something to both the best man and maid of honor along the lines of “Do you, as the closest confidant of bride’s name/groom’s name promise to remember the commitment that (bride’s name) and (groom’s name) have made to one another today, and to remind them of their love and respect for one another should they fall into hard times?” to which they would reply “we do”.
Ring Warming
The ring bearer passes around rings to all the guest (from the beginning of the ceremony) or select row of guests, to say a silent prayer for the couple, or to pass good energy onto the rings.
Song
My sister will play a song on the guitar and sing
Poetry Readings
One English poem and one Arabic poem will be read at our ceremony
Signing of the Marriage Contract
In front of all the guests, the bride and groom will sign the marriage contract, along with two witnesses and the officiant. This is the actual part where you are considered married, so I don’t understand why it’s never included in the ceremony! We are definitely doing this..
The officiant will say something to the parents of the bride and groom to show that they approve of and support the marriage. Something like.. “Do you, as mother and father of the bride/groom, approve of and support this marriage? Do you promise to encourage your daughter/son to the best husband/wife that he/she can be? And finally, do you accept bride’s name/groom’s name into your family and intent to honor her/him as such?” to which the parents would reply “we do” each time.
Best Man/ Maid of Honor Vows
The officiant will say something to both the best man and maid of honor along the lines of “Do you, as the closest confidant of bride’s name/groom’s name promise to remember the commitment that (bride’s name) and (groom’s name) have made to one another today, and to remind them of their love and respect for one another should they fall into hard times?” to which they would reply “we do”.
Ring Warming
The ring bearer passes around rings to all the guest (from the beginning of the ceremony) or select row of guests, to say a silent prayer for the couple, or to pass good energy onto the rings.
Song
My sister will play a song on the guitar and sing
Poetry Readings
One English poem and one Arabic poem will be read at our ceremony
Signing of the Marriage Contract
In front of all the guests, the bride and groom will sign the marriage contract, along with two witnesses and the officiant. This is the actual part where you are considered married, so I don’t understand why it’s never included in the ceremony! We are definitely doing this..
The reason I’d like to incorporate the above into our
ceremony is because it gives the opportunity to include so many important
people into our ceremony. Our parents, best friends and guests will be an
active part of our union, and in addition they will see us actually be married.
Now how to figure out how to keep the ceremony under 30 minutes long… hmm..
I'm also considering a sand ceremony, using sand from both Florida and Dubai (since the fiancé and I grew up in different places), but I can’t decide if it’s cheesy or not. I mean… sand.. ? What are we? Sun worshipers?
Another way to make the ceremony unique and different is to set it up in a way that is un-expected. Check out these non-typical ceremony set-ups...
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| A much more intimate set-up than your typical aisle |
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| Perfect set-up for a Ring Warming Ceremony |
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| This one is great because its circular but also allows the bridal party to stand. |
One last way to make your ceremony stand out could be to have it at the end of the night, rather than the beginning. Or it could even be.. cocktail hour, ceremony, reception. That almost makes more sense than to have the cocktail hour and reception right next to one another. It would also be helpful in mine and my fiance's case because then we could ensure that everyone will be on time for the ceremony!
