Love in Bloom: Wedding tips for couples

Christine McCullough, Non-denominational Celebrant

With spring wedding season in full bloom, happy couples around the globe are preparing to tie the knot. But for newly engaged couples, planning a wedding can feel a bit daunting. Even after scouring the internet for wedding prep tips, you may wonder how to make your day unique and special. Below, find four wedding tips for couples that will help make your day as unique and precious as your love.

Four Wedding Tips for Couples

The seed of love is planted in astounding ways. Sometimes through a unique shared hobby , like skydiving. Sometimes it’s a quick glance across the room on girls’, or boys’ night out and you’re instantly entranced. Other times, you may have cultivated that seed since you shared a seat on the school bus in grade school. Sometimes the return of an old love after a lifetime of experiences takes you in, seemingly, different directions. A wedding is the culmination of that seed of love.

1. Embrace Your Uniqueness

A wedding, this celebration of a spiritual bonding, can be as unique as the two individuals involved. Since 1995 I have had the pleasure of writing, organizing and performing numerous ceremonies. Each union an individual expression of the promise of a future shared.

I’ve celebrated a sunset wedding on the good ship Madeline in Newport Harbor. Another on a beach in Galveston. One in the Gilded Age elegance of Rosecliff on Bellevue Ave. Ive also facilitated in the opulence of the Carnegie Library in Washington, DC. From a simple backyard gathering on a farm to a full-blown Halloween celebration filled with ancient traditions, like jumping the broom, a wedding offers the community shared joy and shared promise.

I even heard the President of Mexico rents his private plane for your nuptials! 

No matter the venue or theme, one thing remains: the culmination of love through ritual and vows inspire all who participate with the promise of hope and new beginnings.

2. Get others involved in the celebration—even Fido

This “promise” can be seen as more and more weddings celebrate blending families, making the children of the partners a part of the ceremony through a shared sand ceremony, for instance. 

A Sand Ceremony is a beautiful metaphor for joining all members of a  soon to be blended family. Each child/family member, as well as the bride and groom, has a small glass container. The container holds sand in the color of their choice. As the vows are spoken each take turns pouring their sand into a central container, with bride and groom going last. The result is a beautiful stratification of colors. Just as the separate grains of sand cannot now be separated, the image formed represents the now unified family.

Family members who cannot travel now share a reading or song or good wishes through the wonder of Zoom or Skype. Even beloved pets share center stage, like the sheep at the rustic wedding I celebrated. The sheep in attendance wore collars of ribbons and flowers, matching the bride’s bouquet and were allowed to wander among the guests. At another service, the dog, dressed in a black bow tie, walked his mistress down the aisle. In a wedding no one is left out of the celebration of love.

3. “Be Prepared”: A couple’s motto

Fred Albert writes in the 2021 edition of Newport Wedding magazine, that during the Covid pandemic many couples scaled back their weddings. Instead, they replaced gala affairs with backyard celebrations. He notes that, “even a garden wedding brings its own set of challenges and costs.” 

Always have a rain plan, as couple Lucille and James found out when their scheduled wedding on the good ship Aurora was waylaid by Hurricane Bob. Luckily the nearby venue, Bel Mer was able to accommodate the small crowd of participants during the storm.

An alternative food plan is also wise, as was experienced at a casual rustic potluck reception in Lowell, Massachusetts when the celebratory ice cream wedding cake was found to have melted. Luckily, one of the guests had brought a pan of brownies to share.

Perhaps one of the greatest wedding tips for couples is this: remember, even the “oops” of the moment can become an amusing memory to be shared at anniversaries to come.

Don’t forget to celebrate you!

No matter where you want to celebrate or how complex or simple, remember your wedding is your individual expression of the love you hold for each other and an inspiration to your community.

Interested in creating a ceremony as unique as your love for one another? Schedule a free consultation with Rev. Christine McCullough, Non-Denominational Celebrant at Wedding Party Newport (401-662-6642).