Ceremony Details
This for me has been one of the hardest things to figure out, all the details for the ceremony. On this page I am going to share everything as I figure it out from timings to music and everything in between. Keep in mind that while I'm still in the planning process things on here may change!
Cord of Three Strands
The Cord of Three Strands is a Christian ceremony that is used in place of unity candles or sand ceremonies. Its based on a line of scripture, Ecclesiastes 4:12 which says "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken".
The symbolism is that each of the colours of rope has a specific representation, the purple being the groom, the gold being God and the white being the bride. The braiding together of these is symbolic of the coming together of the three in a relationship through marriage.
Jano and I loved this ceremony because it wasn't just about us coming together, it includes the centre of our relationship, which is our relationship with God. After the wedding we will take the braided rope, frame it or put it in a shadow box and display it in our house as a reminder.
If this is something you are interested in, it can be found on the God's Knot page - CLICK HERE
The symbolism is that each of the colours of rope has a specific representation, the purple being the groom, the gold being God and the white being the bride. The braiding together of these is symbolic of the coming together of the three in a relationship through marriage.
Jano and I loved this ceremony because it wasn't just about us coming together, it includes the centre of our relationship, which is our relationship with God. After the wedding we will take the braided rope, frame it or put it in a shadow box and display it in our house as a reminder.
If this is something you are interested in, it can be found on the God's Knot page - CLICK HERE
Timings
Timings are something I haven't put much thought into yet with the exception of the actual time of things starting for invitations. As I figure out the rest of the morning leading up to the ceremony I'll update this, but here's our timeline thus far...
3:30-4:00 - Ceremony
4:00-5:30 - Cocktail Hour
5:30-6:30 - Guest being shuttled to reception site, getting seated
6:30 - Wedding Party, Bride & Groom make their entrances, Reception begins
3:30-4:00 - Ceremony
4:00-5:30 - Cocktail Hour
5:30-6:30 - Guest being shuttled to reception site, getting seated
6:30 - Wedding Party, Bride & Groom make their entrances, Reception begins
Ceremony Music
Ok, so this has been a very difficult part of the planning process for me! Music to me is a HUGE thing that has the ability to represent SO much, and so I find I am always looking for the 'perfect' songs and refusing to settle. Anything written on this page has been decided for sure, I have also left blank the ones that I am still figuring out. I have also included 'CLICK HERE' links to the songs on Youtube if you are interested in listening to any of them.
Prelude - Various songs by Vitamin String Quartet such as covers of GNR, Pearl Jam, etc
For a sample - CLICK HERE
Seating of Parents/Grandparents -
Wedding Party Processional - Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath - CLICK HERE
Bridal Processional -
Cord of Three Strands Ceremony - Love is Not a Fight by Warren Barfield - CLICK HERE
Signing of Marriage License - Performance by a friend, yet to be determined
Vocals & Ukelele
Recessional -
Postlude - More songs by Vitamin String Quartet, same as Prelude
Prelude - Various songs by Vitamin String Quartet such as covers of GNR, Pearl Jam, etc
For a sample - CLICK HERE
Seating of Parents/Grandparents -
Wedding Party Processional - Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath - CLICK HERE
Bridal Processional -
Cord of Three Strands Ceremony - Love is Not a Fight by Warren Barfield - CLICK HERE
Signing of Marriage License - Performance by a friend, yet to be determined
Vocals & Ukelele
Recessional -
Postlude - More songs by Vitamin String Quartet, same as Prelude
Decorations
I have started the decorations for the ceremony, but have definitely not completed everything! My first thought was to find a picture of the space so I know what I was dealing with. We are getting married on an outdoor patio with a gazebo to use as the altar. Here are a couple pictures of the location.
I found this picture (below left) of a gazebo with a floral garland. I loved the look of the garland but didn't like the fabric behind it as I don't want to hide the beauty of the gazebo itself. I then decided to make my own garland using silk flowers and artificial greenery from Michaels.
I also have always loved photos with aisle runners. I found the inspiration picture below and knew that a monogrammed aisle runner was what I really wanted. I purchased an aisle runner and painted our monogram on it.
I created memorial candles for each of our fathers, these will burn off to the side during the ceremony. I also created reserved seating signs to save the seats for the mothers, the flower girls/ring bearers, etc that get to sit in the front area. I didn't want anything too fancy for the aisle decorations, because that's just not my style, but found a picture that I loved with a few roses and a simple chair sash. We will be doing this down the aisle with silk roses in red and white and a black sash. To make it a little more simple there will only be 3 roses per chair just to give a slight decoration. I am still working on putting all the roses together for each of these. I haven't started programs (or really considered them at all) but I did put together some Tears of Joy packets for the ceremony to be given to each person. I also decided that for the send off we will use black bird seed, but haven't decided how I will package that yet to be handed out.