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Interfaith Wedding Ceremony Ideas
These days, it's becoming more and more common for couples of
different religious backgrounds to get married. Many religions
have embraced this fact-- in two of the four major Jewish sects,
interfaith marriages are regularly performed, most Protestant
clergy are willing to officiant interfaith marriages, and more
and more Catholic priests, Conservative Judaism rabbis, and
Believing PrayerHave you noticed that most of us have been raised to not believe in positive outcomes' At the same ..... Islamic leaders are conducting interfaith ceremonies. Ask other
interfaith couples in your area for recommendations if you're
having a hard time finding someone yourself. Or, you could have
your wedding performed by a non-religious officiant. You will
still have the opportunity to incorporate religion into your
ceremony if you do this, but it will eliminate the hassle of
finding a religious officiant who's views about interfaith
marriage are the same as yours.
It may not be easy pulling off an interfaith ceremony. Your
relatives may be upset that you are straying from tradition and
even you and your fiance may have some different ideas about how
the ceremony should be run and which traditions and rituals
should be part of the ceremony. You will need to take a lot of
time to consider exactly what marrying someone of a different
faith means to you and how you will handle your differences on
the wedding day and beyond. With some compromising and
understanding though, we're sure you're interfaith wedding will
go on without a hitch.
Since there is no traditional interfaith ceremony format, we can
not recommend one that you should follow, but below you will
find some tips for how to incorporate two religions into your
ceremony.
Involving Both Families-- Chances are, if anyone is upset about
you having an interfaith marriage it's the older generation--
your parents and grandparents. The best thing you can do to help
them come to terms with your decision and understand it is to
have both families participate in the ceremony. Unity candles
are a wonderful idea to involve both parents and in this case,
the candle lighting will have extra symbolism as you are not
only joining your two families, but also your two faiths. At
many interfaith marriages involving Christian and Jewish grooms
and brides you will notice that the couple is taking a cue from
the Jewish religion and having both parents walk the bride and
groom down the aisle. This is sure to make both sets of parents
feel special on the big day.
Can Christians Be CapitalistsCan Christians Be Capitalists' by A K Whitehead For reasons of space, we have to be very concise in this article. By Neutral Ground-- It's important for many couples and their
families to have a completely neutral ceremony. Many officiants
steer clear of using non-inclusive language and avoid using
mentions of things unique to one religion (for example, mentions
of Israel, Jesus as a savior, etc.) and instead focus on God's
love and the theme of unity and togetherness. In general, we'd
advise against having the ceremony in a place of worship unless
it is special to both the bride and groom.
Music and Readings-- Incorporate music and readings from both
your faiths into the ceremony or you can have faith neutral
readings and music. We have several suggestions for readings as
well as tips for readers weddings in our ceremony section.
Programs-- Wedding programs are almost a necessity at an
interfaith wedding if you will be incorporating aspects of two
faiths into your wedding. A good program will explain the
meaning and origin behind any religious rituals that take place
at the wedding, that way, none of the guests will be confused
about what is going on (your guests may not have attended a
wedding outside of their faith group).
Having two officiants-- Many interfaith couples are now deciding
to have two officiants present at their wedding ceremonies, one
from each religion. By having two officiants, you'll be making
everyone more comfortable, plus two heads are always better than
one and two officiants can give you more ideas about conducting
and interfaith ceremony than just one.
About the author:
Heather Greene is the head writer for the wedding planning site,
Wedding Wonderful located at www.weddingwonderful.com. This
article originally appeared on Wedding Wonderful.
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