~ Ceremonies ~

THE SAND CEREMONYrepresents leaving two separate lives and joining to make one life together. The separate lives are symbolized by two vases of sand, in different colors. The Bride and Groom come together, and pour into one vase, two individual colors of sand. Their flowing together creates a design made by the couple as they share their first experience of unity as husband and wife. The newly formed union is represented by the intertwined pattern of sand created by the couple. This symbol is then a keepsake of their wedding day.

UNITY CANDLE CEREMONY
Before you met you were two individuals, leading individual lives. As you got to know each other better, and as you decided to join together as a family, part of you became one. It is in the lighting of the Unity Candle that we acknowledge this oneness, not only with each other, but with a greater power you can choose to call God, Spirit, Universal Power, Universal Light. It matters not what you name the light, only that you know that your individual lights are now part of something bigger than yourselves.

In the lighting of the unity candle, we symbolize the joining of two lights to create a new third light. From: "The Voice of the Master" by Kahil Gibran we read, "Marriage is the union of two divinities that a third might be born on earth. It is a union of two souls in a strong love for the abolishment of separateness. It is that higher unity which fuses the separate unities within the two spirits. It is the golden ring in a chain whose beginning is a glance and whose ending is eternity.

"From every human being there arises a light that reaches straight to heaven. And when two souls that are destined to be together find each other, their streams of light flow together and a single brighter light goes forth from their united being. May the light of love, the light of understanding, the light of respect and the light of tolerance shine eternally for both of you."