Religious Wedding Ceremony Traditions

By: Alexine

Today there are many religions that people have grown up with or have been subjected to as adults. It is quite common for a wedding to take place between a bride and groom of different religions. With this situation the couple would typically choose to go along with the wedding ceremony of the more religious person in the couple. However, more commonly today the bride and groom have come up with ways to incorporate both of the religions into one ceremony. With that in mind I have come up with the most common wedding traditions seen in dual-religion ceremonies.

Stepping on the Glass
A popular wedding ceremony tradition that represents the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem is stepping on the glass. This is part of the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony that has been taking place for many years. To add a bit of your Jewish heritage to the ceremony you could add the stepping on the glass to the end after the “kiss the bride” and before you walk back down the aisle as husband and wife.

Presenting the Wedding Rosary
The presenting of the wedding Rosary is a traditional part of the Catholic marriage ceremony. It is said that if the bride and groom say the Rosary together every night that their marriage will survive no matter how difficult the situation. To add a Catholic tradition to your ceremony you can have the person marrying you present the Rosary after pronouncing you husband and wife.

Lighting the Candle
This is one of the unity ceremonies that are highly requested at Christian wedding ceremonies these days. It represents the two flames of the bride and groom becoming one together when they simultaneously light the large candle. This unity candle ceremony is quite popular for weddings held inside a church due to the still air. It is hard when having an outdoor wedding to ensure that this ceremony will not be ruined by wind so make sure you keep that in mind if it is one you were considering.

Mixing the Sand
This is another one of the popular unity ceremonies requested at Christian weddings. You see the mixing of the sand most frequently at beach weddings where the bride and groom each pour sand into one bottle. This represents the two becoming one just like the candle ceremony above.

Old, New, Borrowed, Blue
One of the most common sayings for a bride on her wedding day is “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” This explains four of the items that a bride must have for good luck in her marriage on the wedding day. As tradition brides would wear an old piece of jewelry and perhaps borrow their mother’s wedding dress. A new pair of shoes and blue undergarment or hankie would complete the tradition to keep good luck with the bride on her wedding day.

The Mehar
A traditional Muslim wedding tradition is the mehar. This is a monetary gift from the parents of the groom to the parents of the bride. This gift was also given in the form of livestock by families who did not have large sums of money. This gift was payment to help ensure the family of the bride be taken care of in exchange for their daughter. While it may seem old fashion today, this tradition could take place today with a different type of gift. The groom and bride’s parents could exchange special gifts as representation of their joining as a family.

Traditions for You
These are just a handful of the religious traditions that are present in today’s wedding ceremonies. Depending on which religions you both come from it is nice to be able to include a little bit from each of your backgrounds. Take time to research your religion or religions to see what you feel comfortable with and take those traditions for your wedding ceremony. There are plenty of ministers out there that are willing to make the ceremony as unique as you are as a couple.