Ceremony Traditions New and Old | New Mexico Wedding Photographers

Most weddings include a unity ceremony of some kind.

We love tradition, and ceremonies that have been around for generations. But we also love when some couples may be looking to try something different during their ceremony.

So we’ve gathered some ideas from our past couples to share with you. These bride and grooms have all found unique ways to incorporate a unity ceremony during their wedding. We know that whether you’re looking for something different or traditional, you’ll love these ideas, and we hope you find something inspirational for your wedding ceremony!

.: The Unity Candle :.

The unity Candle is a traditional staple in weddings.

The unity candle traditionally represents the joining of two individuals, from two different families, who have created a new family. The flames represented the passion of each person for their future spouse. The tradition has been around since the mid 20th century and we don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon.

You can also include your family in your unity candle ceremony. Have the couples dads, or moms light the first two candles that the bride and groom will use. If you have children, ask them to help you light the new middle candle representing the new family.

.: Tree Planting Ceremony:.

We’ve had couples who have also decided on a tree planting ceremony.

The tree represents the roots of their relationship and the continued growth of their love.

You can either plant the sapling from the bulb, or take an already planted tree in a pot, and simply add more soil and water it.

Either way you choose to do your tree planting ceremony, all I ask is that you nickname it your “Love Fern” in honor of “How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days”

.: Braid Ceremony:.

Many couples choose to incorporate a braid ceremony into their wedding. For many couples this stems from a bible verse which states that a “chord of three strands is not easily broken.”

The three strands are meant to represent the husband, wife, and God.

Some couples choose to braid in the form of a cross, others just a simple braid.

Either route you choose, it will be a beautiful reminder as it hangs in your home.

.: Sand Ceremony :.

From out Lovely bride Tiffany:

“We chose it because we wanted to represent both the union of our families into one as well as represent the importance of our Christian faith and having God as the foundation to our marriage. We used the sand ceremony to incorporate our faith into our ceremony and our commitment to seeking God in our marriage! We picked three colors as opposed to the more traditional use of two colors to represent me, Nathan, and God. The mixing of the sand colors simultaneously (as opposed to layered one on top of one another) represented how being unified in marriage is a forever bond between us (because we can’t un-mix the sand haha).”

.: Whiskey Ceremony :.

By far one of the most unique ideas we’ve come across was this creative whisky ceremony.

We asked Clarissa, the bride, to tell us more about this fun idea and what it meant to them:

“Whisky has always been our drink of choice, so it seemed natural to incorporate it into our wedding somehow. We decided to do a whisky blending ceremony as part of our vows.

“First we found a keepsake container to store it in. We found a customized whisky barrel on Etsy with our last name and the year of our wedding etched on the front. Next we chose two different types of whisky. We knew that they’d need to be similar types and complimentary tastes, so that they blended well. We landed on Crown Royal Vanilla and Crown Royal Black.

“The vanilla represented me because it’s sweet and the black represented Steve because it’s smooth. When you combine the two they make the perfect blend. We poured the two bottles into the custom whisky barrel during our ceremony while our officiant explained the meaning behind it.

“We display the whisky barrel in our home bar area, so it’s a daily reminder of how our different “flavors” come together to create the perfect blend of marriage.

“We took of our first sip of the signature ‘Briones Blend’ on our first Anniversary and will continue to do so each year.”