Lay ceremony booklet, Atelier Vingt-Huit
If you are getting married soon, and especially if you are planning a secular ceremony, you are certainly looking for ideas of rituals that could inspire you. Indeed, each culture has its own wedding rituals. In our case, being a Franco-German couple, we have honored some German rituals, but not only. I present you here five of them!
SUMMARY
The pretzel ritual
Der Polterabend: the porcelain breaking ritual
Die Legende vom Brautbecher: the legend of the bridal cup
The four candles ritual
Das Baumstamm Sägen: the log sawing ritual
1. The pretzel ritual
The first ritual is the pretzel one. My husband came up with this idea that he had seen before at another wedding. I have not been able to find the origin of this ritual but the idea is that on the wedding day, each groom pulls a piece of the pretzel and the one who gets the biggest half is designated as the head of the family (in theory :-) )!
In our case, we had asked our chef (from Alsace no less, and whom I recommend a thousand times), Juliette Meyer, to specially make a large pretzel to honor this ritual. But, despite my secret arrangement with her (female solidarity obliges!) to get the bigger half, it seems that karma had a way of making me get the smaller half on the big day... Fortunately, my lover finally gave me his half. Isn't love beautiful!
Final bonus: the pretzel in question can then be shared with all your guests!
2. Der Polterabend: the porcelain breaking ritual
You will have understood it: the objective is to pass from the first photo to the second...
First of all, what is the Polterabend? In German, poltern means to make noise and abend means evening. Thus, it is a German wedding ritual normally held the night before the wedding in which guests come and break porcelain at the feet of the bride and groom to bring them luck. There is also the idea that the couple then collects the debris together with the symbolism of marriage to always face the trials of life hand in hand. Finally, there is also the idea that by making noise through the breaking of porcelain, it keeps away evil spirits.
In our case, we did this ritual on the wedding day so that everyone could participate. We had asked our guests to bring back a piece of porcelain they wanted to get rid of on the wedding day (the perfect opportunity to finally part with that porcelain item you received as a gift but hate!). We had a few extra pieces of porcelain for those who were a little light-headed. We had also asked the owner of the Domaine de Ronsard where we got married for prior permission to break this porcelain directly on one of the walls, and finally, we had installed a tarp at the bottom of that wall so we could collect the pieces at the end. It was a very funny moment and an unexpected opportunity to let off steam, everyone enjoyed it!
Finally, for the most motivated and creative, this ritual can also be the opportunity to recover the pieces of broken porcelain and make a pretty mosaic in memory of the wedding!
3. Die Legende vom Brautbecher: the legend of the bridal cup
During our wedding ceremony, my parents-in-law surprised us by offering us a beautiful cup and telling us in German and French the romantic story of Cunégonde, the origin of the legend of this bridal cup. Indeed, it is an old German wedding custom that the bride and groom drink together from the same cup at their wedding, the groom from the big cup and the bride from the small cup, this drink should bring them love, fidelity and happiness. Thanks to our lovely ceremony officiant, Justine Massot, who surprised us with champagne on the big day, we were able to honor the tradition right away! By the way, champagne is an excellent choice because, in case of accident, it doesn't stain and therefore no disaster is possible ;-)
4. The four candles ritual
The ritual of the four candles has the advantage of being moving, simple to set up and adaptable according to the meanings you want to give to it. Indeed, the flame represents light and life.
In our case, we had planned four ivory candles (don't forget the candle lighter and glass containers so that the candles remain visible and lit, even if the weather is windy!):
The first, lit by one of our parents on each side, represented childhood, the education received.
The second, lit by two of our witnesses, represented the present, the daily accompaniment.
The third, lit by one of our witnesses who recently became a mother, represented the future.
The fourth and last one, lit by us, represented the infinite, symbol of our union.
Finally, we chose to accompany this candle ritual by a harpist (Pauline Amar, whom we recommend for her talent and gentleness) to make it even more emotional.
5. Das Baumstamm Sägen: the log sawing ritual
The log sawing ritual is a German tradition in which the bride and groom face this first hurdle in their lives together, and by working together as a team to achieve this, they demonstrate their ability to face life's trials hand in hand throughout their union.
In our case, we had bought a red sawhorse and we had been lent a log saw of the same color. The scene is rather funny to find ourselves during the secular ceremony, in wedding clothes, to have to saw this log (well, we admit it, we only gave a few strokes of saw for the symbol, the ceremony would have lasted much too long if we had wanted to saw the log until the end ;-) )!
See you soon for more wedding ideas and inspiration!
=> I hope this article has helped you in the preparation of your wedding and, if you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate, I'll be happy to get back to you!
Feel free to check out my other articles dedicated to the organization of a civil wedding, but also to inspirations for a unique wedding proposal, as well as for the decoration of your wedding reception hall. And, if you dream of a made-to-measure wedding dress, I have the right address for you: Annabé Creations Singulières! Finally, if you are looking for a dream destination for your honeymoon, why not Namibia?
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