Wedding Path NewsWire
WeddingPath News 23rd Feb 2007 459 views
We always love to hear about the different styles of wedding people are planning. WeddingPather Alix kindly emailed to tell us about hers. “We're having our wedding in a field, in a small village in France,” she says. “It will be based on a Pagan handfasting, but we'll bring in other traditions as I was brought up Catholic and my partner Hindu. Our children and friends will also have roles.”
Although the details have yet to be finalised, she has already come up with some ideas: “We'll pick flowers in the fields, and ask guests to write their wishes on heart-shaped bits of paper to be made into a collage later.”
Alix’s email made me want to find out a little more about the idea of handfasting. Here’s what I have found out.
Handfasting is for people who are seeking a ‘joining ceremony’ that is different to a standard wedding service. Those who want to be married in the eyes of the law can have a handfasting in addition to the official marriage proceedings in a registry office. There are many different types of handfasting, with particular customs associated with each. Here are some of the most popular rituals:
• A presider leads the ceremony and explains to the guests the significance of the ritual to be performed. There are often attendants to help out, too.
• The ceremony usually takes place in a wooded area, in a circle formed on the ground with rocks or crystals. Friends and family are gathered around the circle. At the start of the ceremony, the couple walk once around the circle together and enter it from the east – the direction of the sunrise.
• The presider prompts the couple to drink from the same cup – first separately, then holding the cup as the other drinks. This symbolises the need for a balance of apartness and togetherness in their life together.
• Often, the couple face each other, joining both their left and right hands together. In this way, their arms and bodies form a figure 8 – the symbol of infinity – when viewed from above.
• The couple each reads a statement to the other, expressing their love and their hopes for their future together.
• The presider offers advice to the couple, then asks the assembled guests to confirm that they will support the couple in their ongoing relationship. The presider then pronounces the couple handfasted as husband and wife.
• At the end of the ceremony, the couple walk clockwise around the circle, greeting friends and family.
Of course, everybody’s ceremony is a very personal thing, so different couples will want to add their own touches to make the occasion special and relevant to them. If you are having a ceremony with a difference, other WeddingPathers would love to hear about it! Please share your stories by posting on our friendly forum.
If you’re having an elaborate hairstyle on your big day, chances are the hairdresser will start work before you have your dress on. Be sure to wear a front-fastening top or robe while having your hair done, so you won’t have to lift it over your head and disrupt your ’do when changing into your bridal ensemble!
Have a fab week.
Love and apples!!!
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