Ceremony

The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions: Readings, Rituals, Music, Dances, and Toasts

When planning for the big day, it's very easy to get caught up in beaded white dresses, boutonnieres, and how many platters of mini crab cakes to order, but the most important part of the wedding is the most-often overlooked--the ceremony itself. A wedding ceremony can vary hugely depending on the religious (or not) beliefs of the couple, their cultural backgrounds, and their personal preferences. The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions can help you sort through all the choices and come up with just the right vows and music for you and your intended.

Do you want the traditional "I, so and so, take thee, so and so, to be my lawfully wedding husband/wife before God" or do you want a looser style: "I love you. And I look forward to being your friend and companion, your wife/husband and lover for life"? Carley Roney, author and editor-in-chief of The Knot (www.theknot.com), strongly suggests taking a stab at writing your own vows, but if that's just too much, cull what you like from the many different styles--from Buddhist to Quaker--offered. Readings can be from the Bible or other spiritual writings, from poetry or even song lyrics. A diverse selection of writings and excerpts are included as are a lengthy lists of songs and music for before the ceremony, the processional, the recessional, and the first dance (everything from Bach's "Brandenberg Concerto No. 4" to Martina McBride's "I Love You").

Also included here are chapters on the wedding program, ring exchanges, and speeches and toasts. Interspersed are stories and pictures of real couples and how they arranged their wedding day. Meant as a jolt to your imagination, The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions helps you to put a very personal touch on an age-old ceremony. --Dana Van Nest

From the #1 wedding Web site and the author of The Knot Complete Guide To Weddings In The Real World, a comprehensive guide to choosing the perfect words and music for your wedding.


In her third book in The Knot series, Carley Roney has created a complete guide to wedding vows, toasts, and readings that is the perfect resource for wedding couples, bridesmaids, best men, and parents alike. Drawing on wedding traditions and customs from around the world, The Knot Complete Guide To Wedding Vows And Traditions includes real-world information on:

—Vows, from the traditional "to have and to hold" to creating your own
—Rituals from a variety of traditionsbreaking the glass, cutting the cakeand their history and significance
—Toasts, from the classics to advice on writing your own, as well as toasting etiquette and tips on choosing your toastmaster
—Readings, spanning various customs and heritages, poetry and prose, plus sources for finding your own selections
—Musiccomplete lists of popular options to help you chose the perfect songs from the processional to the last dance

Weddings from the Heart: Contemporary and Traditional Ceremonies for an Unforgettable Wedding

Weddings can be traumatic or transporting, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond the control of the bride and bridegroom. But one area which they can control is the ceremony itself. This newly designed bestselling guide offers hundreds of suggested texts, vows, poems, consecrations, readings, and more to help couples create a wedding that is personal and meaningful. It even offers five complete ceremonies, including one for the previously married, one celebrating the joy of finding a soul mate, and one focusing on spiritual commitment. With selections from Pablo Neruda, Shakespeare, e. e. cummings, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Weddings from the Heart offers a reassuring array of possibilities for making that special day truly special.

Together for Life

At back of book is a tear-out selection form for choosing readings, prayers and blessing to be used in your ceremony and for noting all details and variations.

Wedding Blessings: Prayers and Poems Celebrating Love, Marriage and Anniversaries

A beautiful collection of poems, prayers, and toasts for all marriage celebrations.

Finding the right words about love for a wedding or anniversary can be difficult. In Wedding Blessings, June Cotner has collected perfect selections for the bride, groom, members of the wedding party, and other family and friends to share. From verses and vows to prayers and toasts, the sentiments of Wedding Blessings will help make any marriage celebration more memorable. With selections devoted to "anniversaries" and "Reflections", Wedding Blessings also serves as a tribute to and affirmation of marriage.

Filled with inspiration and timeless words by renowned authors such as Robert Browning, Rainer Maria Rilke, the Persian poet Rumi, as well as many contemporary writers, this spiritual, multi-faith anthology offers true gems suitable for all aspects of weddings, anniversaries, and vow-renewal ceremonies. Wedding Blessings is a wonderful gift for the bride-to-be and others celebrating the union of marriage.

Together for Life

Designed to help couples plan their ceremony, it contains the complete marriage rite with all variant prayers, blessings, and scripture texts. Full-page commentaries by Father Champlin on each of

The Everything Wedding Vows Book: Anything and Everything You Could Possibly Say at the Altar - And Then Some (Everything Series)

Packed with ideas, insights, and most importantly, expressions of love and devotion, The Everything Wedding Vows Book will help you create the perfect statement for your new life together.

The Everything Wedding Vows Book will show you how to:
Develop the perfect personalized wedding vow
Adapt a favorite poem or song
Match a classic standard vow to your ceremony
...and much more!

Baker's Wedding Handbook: Resources for Pastors

In this updated, interdenominational wedding manual, pastors will find a comprehensive, creative, and up-to-date resource for conducting traditional and contemporary weddings and special ceremonies such as the renewal of vows and the blessing of a civil ceremony. Crafted in bonded leather with ribbon markers.

A Contemporary Handbook for Weddings & Funerals: And Other Occasions

This handbook is a compilation of tested ideas and resources from pastors to help new and veteran pastors benefit from fresh ideas. Includes difficult situations like the death of a child and secon

Diane Warner's Complete Book of Wedding Vows: Hundreds of Ways to Say "I Do" (Wedding Essentials)

Diane WarnerÂ’s Complete Book of Wedding Vows is the only book devoted solely to helping you prepare and personalize your vows so they are as unique and special as every other aspect of your wedding.

It is one of the largest compilations of vows ever assembled, a practical user-friendly guide that helps couples compose personalized vows from the heart, vows that express their deep feelings of love and commitment to each other.

Diane WarnerÂ’s Complete Book of Wedding Vows includes a wide variety of traditional wedding vows from countries and culture around the world, along with hundreds of personalized, nontraditional vows- those for second marriages, marriages of older couples, ceremonies of reaffirmation and wedding involving children from previous marriages.

Vows with religious variations, those inspired by the classics (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Keats, Shakespeare and many others), even some devoted exclusively to rings are included. And, for the first time in this new edition: Theme wedding vows (including poignant Hand-Fasting ceremony vows and special vows for a Renaissance wedding) and a number of original vows submitted by DianeÂ’s many readers

"At last! A book of wedding vows that runs the gamut from traditional to vows inspired by the classics. If you coordinate weddings, or if you are involved in any way with bridal couples, you will find this book to be a great reference tool."

—Doris Dixon, VP, National Bridal Service

Diane Warner is the best-selling author of 22 books, including Diane WarnerÂ’s Contemporary Guide to Wedding Etiquette, Complete Book of Wedding Toasts, Complete Book of Wedding Showers, Complete Book of Baby Showers, Diane WarnerÂ’s Big Book of Parties and How to Have a Big Wedding on a Small Budget. Diane also writes for magazines, newspapers and Web sites. She is a popular speaker and radio and television guest. She has made over 100 national radio and television appearances and can be seen regularly on HGTV and The Discovery Channel. She lives in Tucson, Arizona with her author-husband, Jack.

The Pastor's Wedding Manual

The Pastor's Wedding Manual is an informative book that contains information on premarital questions and aspects of the wedding and marriage to discussed, information on planning and the actual ceremo