Week 23 - 52 Rituals/Traditions in 52 Weeks

Acknowledgement of the traditional owners of the land

I thought I might share this with you as I have been on occassion asked to begin a ceremony with an acknowledgement of the traditional owners of the land upon which we have stood.

An acknowledgement is a great way of paying respect to those who have come before us and can be done whether or not you have an indigenous background. The two examples here are from one particular area, using specific groups, but wherever you are in the world, you can easily use similar wording to pay respect and honour the traditional owners of the land on which you stand.

It is believed that paying tribute brings good luck by ensuring that you are beginning on a positive note.

“We acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians whose ancestral lands we are meeting upon here today. We acknowledge the deep feelings of attachment and relationship of Aboriginal peoples to country. We also pay respects to the cultural authority of Aboriginal peoples visiting/attending from other areas of South Australia/Australia present here.”

OR

“We would like to acknowledge this land that we meet on today is the traditional lands of the Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their country. We also acknowledge the Kaurna people as the custodians of the greater Adelaide region and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still important to the living Kaurna people today.”

If you are thinking of adding something like this to your ceremony, or are assisting a couple who would like to have something similar included, be sure to check the details of the traditional owners of the land that you will be performing the ceremony on.

Also check out one of our previous rituals/traditions - a traditional smoking ceremony.

The Wedding Gurus

Marriage & the step parent dilemma

The society in which we live today is filled with wonderful blended families that come in all shapes and sizes.  We're not just talking about couples coming together from different cultural backgrounds, but also couples coming together, each with children of their own. (How could we forget The Brady Bunch - if only it was that easy). So many of the couples I see as a celebrant have families like this.

The joining of two families can be a really wonderful experience, but it would be remiss not to mention the fact that it can also be exceptionally difficult and fraught with potential disasters, particularly when combined with the stress of planning a wedding. Step parenting is never easy and we all know very well that planning a wedding can be overwhelming, even for the calmest of couples, but combining the two can see some couples in total despair.


To any of you who have successfully brought two families together while planning and executing an amazig wedding, we commend you. You truly deserve a round of applause.

BUT, for those of you (and I'm sure there are many) who are currently struggling with a suddenly much larger family, while trying to plan your big day and include children and step children, then we symapthise and are here to help.

In working with many couples in this situation I have put together a few ideas I wanted to share with you that may hopefully help you in finding ways to include children and step children and ease the stress of  any family tension that may be lingering.

I have found that finding ways to include and unite the family on such a public level really helps to strengthen the bond and puts the focus on inclusion and unity rather than exclusion and individuality.

Here are some ideas to help:

1. If the children are old enough allow them to act as junior bridesmaids/groomsmen. Asking them to stand beside you earns them a level of importance and respect that you may find helps them to feel apart of it all.

2. If you are each coming to the marriage with a couple of children it may not be practical to have them as attendant in the ceremony. I once did a ceremony for a couple where they each had 3 children and so they bought each of them a gold letter (the childs first initial) and as part of the ceremony each child was asked to come forward as the step parent placed the necklace on and gave them a kiss. All  the guests were crying and the children were so proud and pleased it was beautiful.

3. Include a unity ritual in your ceremony. A great way of making children feel included is by having a unifying ritual. A sand ceremony is a great example (see our sand ceremony for an example) I perform many sand ceremonies with families which usually requires a vase of coloured sand each different and representing the particular family member, They each then pour their sand into the large vase so the colours layer beautiful and then the vas eis then sealed. The glass can be engraved with the wedidng details or an engraved plaque put on the front. Once on display in the home the significance of the once single colours of sand that can now never be seperated again from the others is a constant reminder of the families bond.

4. If they are not wanting or confident enough to take part in the ceremony then give them a job. Ushering guests, handing out rose petals or bubbles. This will allow them to have a purpose on the day.

We really hope this helps and if you are still stuck feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help with more ideas.

The Wedding Gurus
xxx

DIY Pom Pom Tissue Flower Ball

Pompoms make fabulous decorations for events, but unfortunately they can be costly to buy.

We are going to show you how to make them yourself for less than $1 each.

These gorgeous bursts of colour appear as though they are floating in the air, they have so many different creative uses. We love seeing them hung above tables, amongst laterns, or from the branches of a big tree.

All you need for this project is 10 pieces of colourful tissue paper and a paperclip. See our instructional step by step video below.

Week 2 - Sand Ceremony

  Welcome to week 2 of our '52 traditions / rituals in 52 week'  this week we are bringing to you a demonstration of a 'sand ceremony' also known as the unity sand ceremony. Our resident celebrant blogger susan considers it to be one of the most popular ceremonies she performs.

Step by Step Guide:

1. A clear glass vase is placed in the centre of a small table at the ceremonies location. To add a personal touch you can accessorise or engrave it with the couple’s initials or names and the wedding date.

2. Two smaller vases containing different coloured sands are placed either side of the central vase, one for the bride and one for the groom. These sands can be in the wedding colours.

3. During the sand ceremony, the priest or celebrant will verbally direct the couple to take turns to pour the sand from their individual vases into the central vase, creating a layered effect.

4. Finally they will pour the remainder of the sand into the vase at the same time so that the two colours combine and can’t be separated, symbolising their unity in marriage. A poem or reading can be recited at the same time as the sand is poured.

Tip: If your ceremony is at a beach the celebrant may take some sand from the ground and pour it as the final layar to symbolise where the couple confirmed their unity and commitment.

Video Demonstration:

We sincerely hope you enjoy the video dont forget to follow our blog so you can enjoy the fun, inspiring and informative information the next 50 weeks has to bring! If you have any questions or would like us to post any of the wording then please leave a comment and we will do our very best to get back to you within 24hours. Enjoy!

Toilet Paper Hens Night Game

Design a Toilet Paper Wedding Dress

 

This is a well known but extremely fun game for hens nights or kitchen teas. You will need loads of toilet paper, a sticky tape roll for each team, fun materials in white such as tinsel, crepe paper, garbage bags and anything else creative you can think of. Split the party into teams of two or three and nominate a model. Allow 10 – 15 minutes for the teams to create a wedding dress on the model made of the toilet paper and other fun materials provided.

After the time is up each model should strut their stuff on the catwalk with the designers explaining the inspiration behind their creation (have them come up with a designer name to really sell the dress). The bride chooses the winning dress and the team receive a prize. Remember to take lots of photos!

Find more fun hens night games here!

Tutorial Video - DIY Invitations

Making invitations for your engagement & wedding should be fun and easy.

This video is the first to many instalments in teaching you how to make simple but effective invitations, ones which you can proudly send to your guests and won’t cost you a fortune.

HOW TO: MAKE A 3 FOLD WEDDING INVITATION WITH POCKET

YOUR FREE PRINTABLE TEMPLATE: