This Norse Pagan couple wanted some unique elements in their outdoor ceremony. They also wanted to capture their own spirituality while respecting their families’ faith traditions. We co-created a special ceremony that included pouring a candle and a sword jump.
Ceremony Script
Prelude
30 minutes of music by DJ as guests arrive and are seated
Processional 2:00pm
Officiant moves to the altar.
Parents walk down aisle and stand at their seats in front row.
Groomsmen walk down aisle and line up to the right.
Groom walks down the aisle and stands to right of officiant, looking forward.
Bridesmaids walk down the aisle and line up to the left.
Maid of honor walks down the aisle, lights sage, then stands to the left.
Please stand if you are able.
Ring bearer comes down the aisle followed by the flower girls. They move to their seats when they reach the altar.
Bride is escorted down the aisle. Officiant nods to Groom to turn when they get to the end of the aisle. Bride hugs escort at first row, then Bride stands to the left of the officiant. Bride and Groom face each other.
Create Sacred Space
Please be seated. Friends and family, it is wonderful to be here with you today. My name is Reverend Debbie Philp. I’m so happy to be officiating. Please put your cellphones and other technology away so you can be fully present and allow the photographer to capture all the magical moments.
Bride and Groom would like to welcome this land to be part of their wedding ceremony. Please take a moment to look around, look left and right, look at the ground beneath your feet, look at the sky above, and become present to the beauty of this place and to the fondness you feel for Bride and Groom. Take a breath as we settle into this sacred space.
Welcome and Remembering of Loved Ones
On behalf of Bride and Groom, again, welcome, and thank you for being here to witness and support them as they unite in marriage. Bride and Groom wanted nothing more than to celebrate this joyful day with you.
Our thoughts are with loved ones who have passed on and could not be here, including [names of departed loved ones]. May their spirits grace our hearts today and, Bride and Groom, may you feel their presence every day of your marriage.
Wedding Address
Customized wedding address included invocation of Odin and Frigg.
Declaration of Intent
And so, Bride and Groom, if it is your intent to be joined together in marriage, take each other’s hands.
Bride hands bouquet to Maid of Honor. Couple faces each other and joins right hand to right hand and left hand to left hand, forming an infinity symbol.
Do you, Groom, take Bride as your wife, and do you promise your friendship and love, in good times and in difficult times, from this day forth?
[Groom] I do.Do you, Bride, take Groom as your husband, and do you promise your friendship and love, in good times and in difficult times, from this day forth?
[Bride] I do.
Handfasting
In a wedding, symbols are important and helpful, because they serve as a powerful reminder of this time and place, the feelings shared, and the promises made, when the memories of those start to fade over time. Handfasting is a symbol like this. It is one of the world’s oldest wedding traditions. In fastening their hands together, Bride and Groom symbolize their commitment to remain entwined, hand-in-hand. With the tying of the cords, Bride and Groom deepen their commitment to each other.
Place first cord over joined hands.
These are the hands of your best friend, full of love for you. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future.
Place second cord over joined hands.
These are the hands that will love you and cherish you through the years, and comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will wipe tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy.
Place third cord over joined hands.
These are the hands that will hold your children tenderly. And these are the hands that, even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours.
Officiant ties the cords so they will tighten into an infinity knot when hands are released. (Grab front 3 with left hand and hold. Bring back 3 forward, cross (t), behind, then tuck under cords on top of hands, drape behind from top.)
Bride and Groom, as I fasten your hands together and tie the knot, I invite you to reflect on the joy and responsibility that awaits you. From today, you are bound together as lifelong partners, intertwined in love and marriage.
Bride and Groom will now make their vows to each other.
Hands stay bound. Officiant holds printed copies of your vows while you read.
Vows
Groom, I invite you to speak your vows to Bride.
Groom reads personalized vows.
Bride, I now invite you to speak your vows to Groom.
Bride reads personalized vows.
Officiant holds ends of cords as they remove their hands and pulls knot tight, then places the cords on the altar.
Exchange of Rings
May we have the rings, please.
Receives rings from best man.
The ring is another wedding symbol, representing commitment and love that, like a circle, has no beginning and no end. Bride and Groom, let these rings that you exchange be an outward sign of your love and remind you always of what you have promised today.
Holding rings in my hand.
Bless these rings that symbolize the unbroken circle of Bride and Groom’s love, constant and unconditional. Bless these two who wear them with the joy and peace that arises in a partnership of understanding and love. In reaching for each other, may they always find support and be to each other roots in the world.
Groom, please place this ring on Bride’s finger and repeat after me: “Bride, I give you this ring as a sign of my devotion and love.”
Groom repeats
Bride, please place this ring on Groom’ finger and repeat after me: “Groom, I give you this ring as a sign of my devotion and love.”
Bride repeats
Candle Making Ceremony
Officiant moves behind altar where candle mold is standing with the wick suspended. Bride and Groom move to either side facing the altar and pick up their respective jars of wax.
Groom and Bride, you each hold melted wax, representing your lives at this moment, ready to be blended and shaped by your commitment to each other.
At this time, I ask you, in unison, to pour your wax into the mold.
May this newly created candle be a source of light to you in your marriage, and may the light of your love grow ever stronger, ever brighter, over the years.
Officiant moves back to arch, Bride and Groom follow back to their places and take each other’s hands. Sword holders in place at end of aisle.
Pronouncement and Kiss
Bride and Groom, you have proclaimed your love for one another, and declared your commitment to each other, in the sight of myself and of these witnesses. By the power vested in me by the State of New York, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife!
You may kiss!
Recessional and Sword Jump
Bride takes bouquet back, and she and Groom go down the aisle. At the end of the aisle, Bride and Groom pause for another kiss. Young men pick up sword and hold it just above the ground. Bride and Groom jump over the sword. The sword is moved to the side and then the wedding party pairs off and walks down the aisle and out. Parents and family members follow after.
Marriage Certificate Signing
Meet Bride, Groom, and chosen witnesses to sign marriage certificate before formal pictures.