What role do families play in a wedding ceremony?

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Family members can form as large or as minimal a part of your wedding ceremony as you desire. There are some traditional roles that certain family members play in the wedding, however, you can alter or eliminate these as desired. Incorporating family members into your wedding can add a layer of bonding and love, as well as highlight the merging of the two families in the marital union.

1. Giving the Bride Away

   • Traditionally, the father proceeds down the wedding aisle with his daughter, the bride, to symbolically give her away in marriage to her new husband. This role does not need to be portrayed exactly in this manner, however. It can be altered to fit the personal needs and desires of the bride. For example, if the bride is not close with her father or if the father has passed away, the bride's mother, uncle, grandfather or even brother can give her away. The bride can also opt to have two escorts, such as her father and her mother, or her father and step father, to give her away.

   Readings

   • Incorporating readings into the wedding ceremony can enable the bride and groom to include more family members in the ceremony proceedings. The readings are often from the Bible, but they can also include old proverbs or sayings, poems or even song lyrics. Anyone from a beloved cousin to a grandparent to a sibling can offer the readings. This helps to include close family members who otherwise don't have an important part of the ceremony.

   Unity Candle Ceremony

   • The Unity Candle Ceremony is a common element of many weddings. The tradition involves the bride and the groom lighting one central candle with their two individual taper candles, symbolically representing the joining of their two lives into one. Family members, traditionally the bride and groom's mothers, light the taper candles for their son or daughter so they can in turn light the unity candle. Although the mother is the traditional choice to light the candle, since they gave life to their children, the role can also be filled if necessary by another family member, such as an aunt or grandmother.

   Music

   • The music at the ceremony can serve as an opportunity to include family members that would not otherwise have a role in the wedding. If any family members are musically inclined, either through singing or playing a musical instrument, the bride and groom could ask the family member to perform a song for the wedding. This could serve as a break in the ceremony in lieu of a reading or entertain guests prior to the start of the ceremony. It could also accompany the bridal procession down the aisle.

Source: www.ehow.com

Tags: bride groom, wedding ceremony, give away, play wedding, away bride, Candle Ceremony, families play