PLUS a sneak peek into our wedding vows

There are few things more personal than your wedding vows. If they’re done right, that is. Of course, you can totally follow the traditional route, and if that’s your style, go for it!

But I’m a huge believer that your wedding ceremony should be one of the most intimate and personal moments in your relationship. While you have an audience to watch it all unfold, it can still be incredibly special.

Our wedding day was a total dream, and our ceremony was super intimate. We just focused on each other, the words being said and the meaning behind the entire day.

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Mix it up!

We blended several traditional wedding ceremony elements into a modern mix-up of what to us was the ultimate and perfect reflection of who we are as individuals and as a couple. I’m not going to share everything we said, (it was a lot) but a few key elements that you can easily add to make your ceremony more personal and therefore unique to you.  

1.  Start with who you are and where you come from.  

Joe’s grandfather was Jewish, his grandmother Catholic, and my entire family is Baptist.  His family is from Mexico, Syria, and Argentina while mine is Irish and Welsh, needless to say, we are a melting pot of culture and religion. 

You may not want to incorporate any religion into your ceremony.  And that’s absolutely fine. 

We decided to marry the Sheva Brachot (seven blessings in traditional Jewish ceremonies) and the Celtic Hand-fasting into one beautiful and personal element.  For an even more personal touch, we had our mothers bind our hands with each blessing.

Here’s a look at our personal wedding ceremony.  We had 7 unique blessings, here are two of them.  

Hand-fasting Ceremony:
Officiant: May you be inspired each day by the abundance of the natural world, by science and technology, as well as art, music, literature, and creative expression. Rayna & Joe, do you promise today that you will continue to support each other, constantly pushing each other to exceed your own expectations, to strive for a life filled with color, art, culture and all things creative?
Rayna & Joe, In Unison – We Do.
Officiant: And so the binding is made.

Officiant:  The diversity of humanity is remarkable: out of the same basic shape, infinite variations. May you find comfort in the similarities shared by all of the world’s cultures and celebrate the qualities which make us different.
Rayna & Joe there is no doubt that you both love to travel the world, and you welcome people into your heart, and home, with open arms. Do you promise to always stand strong in your beliefs that everyone deserves love, to appreciate those that are different that you, and to never lose that sense of wonder, to stay grounded yet encourage wander?
Rayna & Joe, In Unison – We Do.
Officiant: And so the binding is made.

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2.  Include people who mean something

When Joe and I met in May 2013 I was “out on the town” with my friend Beth and he was traveling for work with his friend Victoria. Since they were with us the night we met, we wanted to include them in our wedding ceremony. Instead of having a large wedding party, we decided to only include Beth and Victoria. Each escorting us down the aisle, standing next to us and ultimately giving their blessing to support us throughout our marriage. 

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3.  Write Your Own Wedding Vows

We wrote our ceremony so it made sense that we also write our wedding vows.  Here’s the one chance you have to actually profess your love to each other and the world.  This wasn’t the easiest thing to do, and yes, it can feel a bit daunting, but in the end, it’s absolutely worth it! 

Here’s a quick peek into our wedding vows. 

Joseph, today I stand before you excited for our next adventure. We’ve dreamed and discussed so many incredible possibilities—and while we have no idea what the future will hold, I promise to stand next to you no matter what life sends our way. I’ve fallen so madly in love with you and cannot imagine a world without us.

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So there you have it.  3 ways we made our wedding ceremony super personal.  No doubt you can easily incorporate one, or all, of these ideas into your wedding day or your clients big day.

Have any other ideas? I’d love to hear how you’re making your ceremony unique!