So much planning goes into a wedding - location, flowers, food, favors, the DRESS! You want everything to be perfect, and to reflect who you are. But what about the true heart of your wedding day, the ceremony?

You might be a traditionalist who wants to walk down the aisle to “The Wedding March,” or you might picture yourself dancing your way to your vows accompanied by your favorite song. You might want to include some religious rituals that are especially meaningful to you, or maybe you’re a free spirit with definite ideas about what you want to do - or not do.

With many couples choosing locations other than churches, temples, synagogues, etc. there is a growing trend toward creating a wedding ceremony that really reflects the personalities of the couple. There’s no need to sacrifice elegance or dignity, if that’s your style, or to give up your laughing nature and stand quietly in front of your friends and family like a statue. If you want violins and a wine ceremony, or funny stories about your dating days that make your guests chuckle, or your kids from a previous marriage handing you the rings and singing a song with you, then it can be incorporated into your ceremony.

You can remember absent friends and family, choose ancient rituals or have new ones created just for you, include your parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and best friends, or have a simple ceremony with just a greeting, your vows, and an introduction. It’s really up to you.

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Maggie Morris is a certified Celebrant and ordained minister who has been creating personal wedding ceremonies since 2007 for couples in western and central PA. She loves meeting new couples, learning about their lives and their visions for their ceremonies, creating and writing the ceremonies and collaborating with couples to get everything “just right.”

Please visit http://maggiethecelebrant.com to learn more about her services and about Celebrancy.

For those interested in a Green Wedding Ceremony you may want to check out the following sample ceremony from an outdoor ceremony at a State Park Sand Dunes from an AAWO member. Happy reading !!!

We are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Groom and Bride. This beautiful, natural setting is a reflection of both who they are, and what they love. Nature has always inspired a connection to something larger than ourselves. It is ever-changing yet with a consistency that we look forward to. There is a pattern, a purpose, cycles of ebb and flow and parallels to our own growth. Love and marriage itself are undoubtedly a divinely inspired force of nature. For when we love it brings us closer to the divinity within ourselves and the world around us. The desire to share with the one we love every aspect of life, to provide security and comfort, love and
commitment, with the promise of forever is a unique aspect of human nature. In marriage we gladly accept that love is the greatest thing in our lives and that through surrendering to it we ourselves become infinite and limitless.

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Authored By Marilyn

Marilyn, is a wedding officiant from the State of Maine, check her out at www.southernmaineofficiant.com