Candle Ceremony Revisited

So our Priest approved our Candle Ceremony!!! Wooohoooo! I can't tell you how happy I am about this, beacuse the Catholic Church is kind of nutty about non-cathoic things...and if our priest were any less progressive, I'm not sure if we could have had it!

So, I've been getting down to the business of ordering supplies: candles (72 for only $36), and paper bobeches (100 for $5). I've also been scouring the internet for variations on candle ceremonies... FYI - there's, like, nothing out there... So, I've been considering a cross between Mrs. Anayisnin's extended Unity Candle Ceremony:

We lit our unity candles and then the officiant said a few words about how everyone in the room helped us as a couple become who we are and helped us to the point we were at that day and we wanted to honor that in sharing the flame of our unity candle. Brett and I then lit a long fireplace match from the candle and together lit each person on the end in the front row's candles. They then shared it backwards from there. To conserve time, the ushers also lit up the aisle. They only had them lit through our vows and then we did rings and kissed and blew them out after the recessional...
and, Mrs. Lovebug's group blessing:

"Each of you are here today because you bring something special to the lives of M. and D. Some of you have known one or both of them for years - and some of you are meeting one of them for the very first time today. But whether you’re an old friend or a newly acquired relation, you have a special place in their hearts. Likewise, you have a special purpose. As beloved family and friends, it is you to whom they’ll turn in the coming years, whether in joy or in sorrow. It is you with whom they’ll share their happiness, and you to whom they’ll bring their pain. You will watch their marriage mature; you will watch their children grow.And when hard times come, and the loving support of friends and family is needed, M. and D. hope to be able to turn to you, just as they will turn to each other.

And so they ask that you commit to them, as they are committing to one another. That just as they pledge to support and protect the other, you pledge to support and protect their relationship, today and always.

When prompted, please answer “We do”.

They ask: Do you offer this man and woman your blessing as husband and wife?

Please say, we do.
(We do.)

And do you offer their marriage your support, as loving friends and family?

Please say, we do.
(We do.)

What do you think???
photo credit: perfect bound

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi,

a thought, since you're catholic and being married in the church: why not start the ceremony like the easter vigil one, with the one light then being spread out to everyone? i'm sure the words used in that service would work well too, nothing too over-the-top (and personally i hate the 'unity candle' and think it's utter stupidity, but that's me). if i remember correctly, the vigil says something about jesus' and god's light being passed out to all people; then you can incorporate that it was god's light in each of you that drew you together, and your lights combined shine forward on the path you two will walk, grounded in and lit by god's initial love.

tina said...

Score 1 for Naughty Catholic Girls! I am so happy you're doing this. We can't have open flames at ANL. :( I might do the group blessing. I feel like our ceremony is so personality-less. We need something.

Colleen said...

Thanks for the ideas!!! Keep them coming!!