THE UNITY SAND CEREMONY
Sand Ceremonies can be done ANYWHERE
but they are beautiful and more meaningful when done as part of a Beach Wedding. Beach weddings are growing in popularity.
There’s something very special about being outdoors, having an ocean breeze wash over you and your guests. It’s
very magical.
By using different colours of sand,
the pouring of the sands becomes even more impressive. You can coordinate the
colours of the sands with your home décor. The pouring of two different coloured sands together is used to symbolize the joining
of the bride and groom’s materialistic lives together.
Remember to choose the right “JOURNEY
VASE” and the right colour of sand as this will not only be important on the day of your wedding but also as a long
term reminder as it stands on your mantelpiece.
This ceremony requires THREE SMALL
VASES, two are filled with sand and the third, slightly larger and fancier is used to combine these two. Some couples pour the sand from two sea shells. The two empty vases are then given by the couple, to the
Mothers of the couple symbolizing a remembrance of their child. You can also ask the minister to scoop up a little sand from the beach with a sea shell and pour it into
the bigger, fancier vase to symbolize the building of their foundation on the Word
of God. A nice touch is to pour the coloured sands into a small "heart-shaped" bottle. Later, you can melt some wax to
seal it to hold the sand in place and then seal it with a cork or lid. Have your names and your wedding date etched in the
glass bottle prior to the ceremony.
During the sand pouring the minister
reads the text below (or any text you choose), the bride and groom pour the two vases of sand into the third container simultaneously.
THE WORDS READ BY THE MINISTER:
“(Bride)
and (Groom), today you will commit yourselves to one another through sacred vows. Your lives will no longer be two,
but one. To symbolize this Bond, we ask you now to pour the sand from your individual glasses into the “Journey
Vase”, and by mixing the sands you intertwine your lives. Just as your two lives together now will be joined to
become one, so will the individual sands become one as they are poured. Symbolizing the unification of your materialistic
lives as one – inseparable before God. Therefore then, by pouring the sand you indicate your willingness
to commit yourself to this Bond.
It would be impossible to separate these
sands, just as it would be impossible to separate (Bride/Groom) and (Groom/Bride)'s souls after today.
By pouring the sand you also commit
here today, to share the rest of your lives, each others worldly possessions.
This ceremony is a Bond, pledged
between two people who love each other and who have agreed that they will commit themselves to one another throughout their
lives by sharing all that they Had, Have, and Will Have.
The individual glasses of sand will no
longer exist, and have no part in your new life. Give them now to your Mothers who have witnessed this Bond.
