Principles for Coming Up with Creative Wedding Ceremony Ideas

The two of you have had your separate wedding ideas since you were young - who you would marry, how the wedding would happen and where, and who would be there. Now you are engaged and planning the real deal. You tell each other how you imagined your wedding would be and somehow you have to combine your separate dreams into a single, creative wedding. Don't panic. Here are some creative wedding ceremony ideas to get you on the right path to a ceremony that you both will be happy with.

There are many ways to make your wedding unique. You can tailor your ceremony to fit who you are as a couple and to express the meaning of your union to your family and guests. The ceremony can be designed to be traditional, romantic, spiritual, or a rich cultural expression of your heritage and personalities.

There are many ways to design the individual sections of the wedding ceremony. You should incorporate ideas from each of your lives. Use your wedding ceremony as an opportunity to express your uniqueness as a couple. This is your introduction as man and wife to your family and friends. Your wedding ceremony will provide several opportunities to express yourselves: wedding party members, vows, music, rituals, honoring the bride and groom's parents (try presenting them with a rose or personalized handkerchief), and readings. Look at each section of the ceremony as a chance for you to make a statement about the two of you as individuals and how you envision yourselves to be as a couple.

Use the music and lighting to set the stage. How the wedding party and bride enter the ceremony can be traditional or you can invent something different like having the wedding party face the guests instead of them seeing only your backs. The location of the ceremony also gives you great avenues for expression - a beach, a family member's backyard, a childhood church, a destination wedding location, or perhaps the place you met like a park or college campus.

The vows are a wonderful expression of what you bring to each other. Honor each other by expressing the commitment that comes from the heart. Vows should express your heart-felt devotion and love for your significant other. They should be as individual as the two of you are as you stand before each other pledging to blend into one. Choose traditional religious vows and add to them or make your own vows. Vows can be sung, read, and even spoken freely from your heart.

Have fun coming up with your own wedding ceremony ideas!