5 popular Unity Ceremony Ideas to Consider

Make your wedding in Las Vegas more memorable. Consider some of the alternative, interesting and unique unity ceremonies.

1. Handfasting Unity Ceremony

The handfasting ceremony is an ancient Celtic ceremony which was a ritual practiced in the British Isles and Europe. It symbolizes the unbreakable bond between a man and woman in marriage. It actualizes the idea of “tying the knot,” an idiom often used to refer to weddings. The wedding ritual is a simple yet distinctive way of making your wedding official – an interesting way to make your Las Vegas wedding permanent. There is no set rule for how many cords are used. You may use one cord if you like. If using more than two or three colors, ribbons may be easier to use than cords and less expensive. Each of the cord colors has its own special symbolic meaning. The cords can be several colors twisted into one cord and used for a single cord ceremony. If you prefer, up to six cords can be draped individually to tie your hands together loosely.

Items list:

Each cord should be at least 48″ (4 ft.) long, so the ends can all be tied together. For more than two or three colors, ribbon usually works better than cord or rope.

Forever Together Seattle shares the meaning of the colors of the cords as follows:

• Red: Will, love, strength, fertility, courage, health, vigor, passion.
• Orange: Encouragement, adaptability, stimulation, attraction, plenty, kindness.
• Yellow: Attraction, charm, confidence, balance, harmony.
• Green: Fertility, luck, prosperity, nurturing, beauty, health, love.
• Blue: Safe journey, longevity, strength.
• Purple: Healing, health, strength, power, progress.
• Black: Strength, empowerment, wisdom/vision, success, pure love.
• White: Spiritual purity, truth, peace, serenity and devotion.
• Gray: Balance, neutrality, used in erasing, canceling, neutralizing, and return to the universe without
  repercussion.
• Pink: Love, unity, honor, truth, romance, happiness.
• Brown: Healing,, skills and talent, nurturing, home and hearth, the earth.
• Silver: Creativity, inspiration and vision, and protection.
• Gold: Unity, longevity, prosperity, strength.

In case you and your partner are wondering, hands-fasting doesn’t make your wedding a restricting bond. Rather, the symbolism of the ties that bind is intended to remind the both of you that marriage makes being there for one another as more than just an obligation – it is an agreement borne out of your souls’ perpetual connection with one another.

View a Handfasting ceremony for unity here

2. Glass-Breaking Unity Ceremony

The glass breaking ceremony stands as an important rite of passage signifying the lasting endurance of marriage. It is a traditional part of a Jewish ceremony however many couples are integrating this meaningful ritual into their ceremony.

Items needed:

• Easily breakable small glass or plastic wine glass
• White napkin to wrap the glass

The glass or plastic glass is wrapped in a towel. At the end of the ceremony the best man will place the wrapped glass at the feet of the groom who steps on the glass and breaks it. At the end of the ceremony, once the groom breaks the glass, the guests shout together, “Mazel Tov!” which is a Jewish phrase meaning congratulations or good luck. The symbolism of this ritual compares the difficulty of reassembling the shattered glass pieces back together to the fragility of love. Glass-breaking, of course, helps signify in thought, that the fragile nature of glass introduces feelings of resolve to make relationships work – quite like a symbol that reminds you and your spouse that your marriage will last forever.

View more information about a glass breaking ceremony here

3. Unity Wine Ceremony

Photo by Muffet

The wine pouring ritual is a unity ceremony that typically uses alcohol, specifically wine, as a symbolic means of solemnizing a marriage. This ritual remains a novel idea.

Items needed:

• An eclectic mix of two kinds of wine: red and white
• A goblet or special cup to drink from

This wine-pouring ceremony involves the bride and groom taking turns drinking from a “common cup,” in which both red and white wine is combined. The said combination promises both an abundance of love, embodied by the red wine, and everlasting strength of marriage, represented by the white wine. Here is a link to Unity Wine Ceremony sets on Amazon  or View a Unity Wine ceremony here

4. Unity Cross Ceremony The unity cross is a unique unity ceremony idea to be implemented into a religious ceremony. The symbolism represents the joining of two lives into one blessed by the love of God.

Items Needed:

• An outside cross frame with a base
• Inner sculpted cross to fit into outside frame

There are two pieces of the cross. The parts are assembled during the unity service. The groom takes the outer cross and places it in the wood base. The bride proceeds to place the sculpted cross inside the outer cross. Most couples will display the cross in their home after the wedding to serve as a reminder of their vows and wedding day and unity with God. View a unity cross ceremony example here

5. Rose-Exchange Unity Ceremony

The rose has long been a symbol of love. Roses fit the scene of every wedding. This ceremony has proven to be a ceremony idea for unity.

Items Needed:

• Two rose presentations or rose buds to exchange simultaneously

Giving a rose to the love of your life may take on a world of lovely meanings: “I love you with all my heart,” and “you’re very special to me” being among the words you may intend to say. When done as a wedding ritual, rose-giving enables you to express your feelings of everlasting love even when you’re already at a loss for words.

View  Unity rose exchange ceremony examples here

Visit more ceremony explanations here.

Rev. Nourish is a Las Vegas wedding officiant who will help you customize your wedding ceremony and tailor it to your needs with each ceremony.  She has over 20 years experience creating and performing weddings in Las Vegas.

Contact Julie to request more information.