Sand ceremony for a catholic wedding

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In any tradition, a wedding is the binding of two lives together. The Catholic rite of marriage includes the theme of unity of the couple extensively, through liturgy, prayer and the administration of a sacrament. Some couples wish to incorporate other ideas into their ceremony to really crystallize the point that two are becoming one. One such idea is the sand ceremony.

1. About

   • The unity candle started the current trend of non-standard rituals in weddings.

     The sand ceremony is a ritual that allows a very physical manifestation of the combining of two lives. The bride and groom will each take their own vial of sand and mix them together, showing that their lives apart are now over, as their new life together begins. Different readings can take place at different points within this ceremony in order to make it that much more poignant. The sand ceremony is a visual way for a couple to affirm their love. Unity ceremonies first started to gain popularity in the 1960s, with the unity candle being the most prevalent today. Since this ceremony is not an actual part of the rite of marriage, not all priests will agree to include it in your ceremony.

   How It Works

   • In a sand ceremony, the bride and groom each start with their own vial of sand. Many times, these vials have different colors of sand. After the first reading, which explains the individuality of the two parties, the groom will pour a small amount of his sand into a larger vessel. This layer of sand represents the foundation of the marriage that he is providing. The bride will then add a layer of her sand to signify the support that she will provide. The two then empty their vials simultaneously, forming a beautiful mixture of the different sands. The result is a visually stunning piece of art that the couple can later display in their home.

   Significance

   • The meaning behind this ceremony is to show how marriage links the two spouses. A popular saying is that they shall be together for as long as it takes to separate the individual grains of sand back into their original containers. Parts of this ceremony are came from Hawaii, where it is customary for the bride and groom to be married on the beach and to take sand from their feet to combine. In this case, the sand would be of the same color and therefore impossible to separate.

   Variations

   • With the increase in second marriages and subsequent blended families, there is a rise in the popularity of adding additional vials of sand for each child involved. By the children adding their personal sand into the mix, the resulting sand sculpture is representative of the new family that the marriage creates. Another variation on this theme is for the priest to add a third vial of sand to represent the Holy Spirit's omnipresence in the couple's lives.

   Warnings

   • Not all priests will perform a sand ceremony.

     The Catholic rite of marriage has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Although the sand ceremony does not contradict anything in the rite, many priests believe that it is superfluous, as the rite itself focuses on unity. If you want to include this ceremony, discuss it with your priest and see what the rules are in your parish.

Source: www.ehow.com

Tags: this ceremony, bride groom, rite marriage, sand ceremony, vial sand, Catholic rite, Catholic rite marriage