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 Traditionsincludes real-world information on:

—Vows, from the traditional "to have and to hold" to creating your own
—Rituals from a variety of traditions–breaking the glass, cutting the cake–and 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
—Music–complete lists of popular options to help you chose the perfect songs from the processional to the last dance

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!

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.

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.

Baker's Wedding Handbook: Resources for Pastors

A comprehensive, creative, and up-to-date resource for conducting traditional and contemporary weddings.

Together for Life: A Preparation for Marriage Outside Mass

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 28 readings make Together For Life ideal for pastors to distribute to couples taking marriage instruction, for pre-Cana, college and high school marriage classes, and newlyweds. Both editions include a 4-page selection sheet for choosing readings, prayers and blessings to be used in the ceremony.

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 second marriages. (20050401)

Promises to Keep : Crafting Your Wedding Ceremony (Rites to Remember Series)

The reason for the whole day is the CEREMONY! So how do you write a GREAT CEREMONY? This unique guide gives you a format for any type of ceremony. It has worksheets to help you think through your words, then it helps you write your vows and promises to say what you really mean. It suggests where to include heart-felt rituals, when to use music or dance. It shows how to enlist your community's support of your marriage, and has a worksheet for your parents. It helps you anticipate problems and shows you how to defuse them. It suggests ways to include your children. INCLUDES CEREMONIES FOR Traditional and Non-Traditional Weddings, Second Marriages, Handfastings, Committment Ceremonies for Lesbians and Gays, and Renewals of Vows.

Wedding Kit for Dummies (Soft Cover with CDR)

If you're planning a wedding, accept it now--there's a ton of details mucking up the happy path to the altar. There is so much on your mind that it's easy to freeze up and forget everything, or go crazy and paper the house with cryptic post-it notes. "After all," say authors Marcy Blum and Laura Fisher Kaiser, "a wedding is a complex affair to orchestrate, and keeping track of all those details, phone calls, expenses, and decisions is a job and a half." Organization is key.

Wedding Kit for Dummies breaks the whole planning process down for you with a series of questions, charts, and spreadsheets. Intended as a companion piece to Weddings for Dummies, this book does not help you word your invitations or tell you where your step-grandmother should be seated. Rather, it helps you knowledgeably talk with your stationer (How much extra are the vellum invites? Should the date be written out or numeric?) and helps you chart who will escort whom down the aisle and when.

Weddings can be ridiculously complicated, and almost everyone involved--especially the bride--is running on high. Wedding Kit for Dummies aims to lessen the stress with its comprehensive checklists, examples of contracts (for the caterer, hotel, flowers, DJ, etc.), and Excel spreadsheets (invitation list, RSVP list, budget tracker). Included is a CD-ROM that prints out hard copies of the lists and runs the spreadsheets (you'll need Windows 95 or later or Mac OS 7.5.5 or later to use the CD). And since so many couples plan on using the Internet, Wedding Kit for Dummies includes the Web addresses of many wedding-oriented sites. --Dana Van Nest

You finally said “yes!” and decided to throw in your lot with Mr. Right. But before you can embark on your new lives together there’s the little detail of your wedding. Handled correctly, it can be what it should be—the most wonderful day of your life. With Wedding Kit For Dummies in your corner, you can guarantee that your wedding celebration is everything you always dreamed it would be.

Whether you’re planning an intimate affair, a huge event, or something in-between, this book/CD package arms you with checklists, templates, worksheets and other useful tools to help you manage all the details. And you get expert tips and advice on, among other things, how to:

• Select the perfect venue
• Track your guest list and RSVPs
• Choosing the food and flowers
• Finding a good photographer
• Negotiate rates with caterers and musicians
• Nail down the wedding-day agenda
• Outfit your wedding p arty
• Plan a destination wedding

Marcy Blum has created magical weddings for hundreds of couples. Now in Wedding Kit For Dummies she shares her tricks-of-the-trade on all aspects of planning, organizing, and pulling off a wedding without a hitch, including such crucial topics as:

• Financing your wedding and staying within your budget
• Seating for meals, tracking gifts, creating invitations and finding the perfect far-away destination for a destination wedding
• Getting all the details of the ceremony right—from choosing an officiant and who walks with whom to cueing the music and dealing with the jitters
• Throwing a whiz-bang reception—covers all the bases including meals, music, flowers, the cake, the bar...all the way down to the send-off

On the bonus CD-ROM you’ll find:

• Live links to top wedding Web resources
• Templates, forms, worksheets, and sample contracts
• A calculator to help you plan your reception
• Spreadsheets to keep track of all your budget details

Your complete wedding planning survival guide, this all-in-one kit is the one accessory every bride-to-be absolutely must have.

Alternative Weddings: An Essential Guide for Creating Your Own Ceremony

This book can guide you from proposal to honeymoon. Exploring a variety of religious and spiritual traditions as well as non religious alternatives.