Wedding Ceremony Ideas for Planning a Unique Wedding Ceremony

by Karen Watson
Updated 09/31/2009

The wedding ceremony is the most important part of the wedding. Without it, the rest will become one wild costume party with lots of food, desserts, and wine. The mistake of some couples is to take the wedding ceremony for granted or to leave the decision-making to someone else. If there is one thing that the bride and groom should have complete agreement on, it should be on the wedding ceremony.

But how do you make sure that you will have the most memorable, meaningful, and still affordable wedding ceremony. Planning is the key. In planning, here are some Wedding Ceremony ideas to focus on.

The Prerequisites
Before the bride and groom can decide on many aspects of the wedding, such as the theme, the food, and the reception, they should first obtain a marriage license. Some states have minimal requirements while others may require blood tests for venereal diseases, proof of vaccination, evidence of sufficient mental capacity, and more.

Getting the marriage license could not be put off until the day before the wedding. Some states even require a waiting period of five days between the application of the marriage license and the wedding date.

The Officiant
The first idea idea for the wedding ceremony is the officiant and he/she must be someone who is authorized by the state or by the county to perform the ceremony. Most government websites will have a list of recognized wedding officiants so finding one will be easy. But finding an affordable one can sometimes be difficult.

The fees for t carefully check each authorized officiant in order to find someone they can afford and like at the same time. There is nothing more disappointing than having an officiant you dislike on your wedding day.

The Traditions
There are numerous traditions that are tied to wedding ceremonies. Some of them include the use of a unity candle, the benediction, the community commitment, the exchange of rings, and the first kiss. Depending on the preferences of the bride and groom, the wedding ceremony can include as many or as little of these traditions.

The Wedding Vows
The exchange of wedding vows is one tradition that could not be removed in a wedding ceremony. It can be as simple as saying “I do” or repeating the prepared words of the wedding officiant, or creating your own unique proclamation of love.

The best thing about wedding vows is that you don’t have to pay for them. But wedding vows do need work. For inspiration, the couple can research the Internet for prewritten vows, incorporate poetry, use songs, or tell a story. The couple may also include humor in their vows.

Additional Touches
One of the things that will add beauty to the wedding ceremony is the background music. There are many available wedding CDs that the couple can buy. One idea to save money and to get the music that you really want, create your own music list and burn it into your very own wedding CD. This idea alone will save you a couple hundred dollars.

Involve Your Guest in The Wedding Ceremony
To involve the guests, the couple can ask selected individuals to read aloud special parts of the ceremony.

A unique ceremony idea is to print these readings on decorative stationary and inform your guests in the wedding program what is going on. That is, the couple can explain in the wedding program the meaning of a particular traditional element in their wedding ceremony. You may also want to include the wedding vows in the program.