Wedding Ceremony in St Louis | St Louis Wedding Chapel

Wedding Ceremonies - For All Loving Perspectives on Life whether it is a Civil wedding Ceremony or a Religious Wedding Ceremony: We honor ALL faiths and interfaith - Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, other religions, humanist, non-denominational, Catholic (including divorced), spiritual/"not religious." We have beautiful ceremonies that will fit YOU perfectly.

Your Wedding Ceremony - Out of everything that goes to make up your wedding day, it will be the ceremony that you will most remember. The ceremony is often the part of the wedding to which the least thought is given, or it is the part the bride and groom presume is solely in the hands of the wedding officiant or the church. The first principle to remember is that your wedding ceremony should feel comfortable to you, the bride and groom. You want your marriage ceremony to exude how you feel and to be relevant to your beliefs. First decide if you want a civil or religious wedding ceremony, If a religious wedding ceremony is what you want then you will want to take into consideration the religious traditions of both of your families. If the bride and the groom are of different faiths, it is wise to be inclusive and considerate of the beliefs of both sides. In actuality, the core beliefs of most religions today are very similar. Virtually everyone believes that love is the essence of God, and that God's primary command is that we become better, more loving, more compassionate, more caring people, and that we do this through our relationships with other people. A lot of ceremony can be built around these universal beliefs.

Basic Parts of a Wedding Ceremony

Not all parts will apply in every marriage ceremony

•Processional
This how you get the minister, wedding party and parents to the front. My preferred style is for the minister to come in first followed by those groomsmen not escorting, then groomsmen that have someone to escort like parents or grandparents who are seated during procession, then groom with his parent(s), then ring bearer, bride's maid individually, flower girl, bell ringer, then bride.
•Introduction
•Giving of the Bride
•Moment of Remembrance for those deceased or not able to attend.
•Parents/Sponsors Involvement
This may be accomplished with the mothers lighting unity candle tapers, receiving flowers from the bride and groom during a mini-parent greeting, or sand preparation for a sand ceremony. This is when the minister talks about the important of parents getting us to this day.
•Cording & Veil
This is a Pacific rim and South American tradition where the sponsors, Godparents, or mothers pin a veil to the couple then place a cord over their heads. A Blessing is invoked then the cord and veil are removed in opposite order.
•Reading #1
•Recognition of Parents
Before we go on to say more about love, it is important to recognize from where love comes in our lives. Of course, someone first loved Bride and Groom. Someone cared for them as children, showed them what love, compassion, kindness, and care is. Of course we are speaking of the parents. The work of our parents is critical in preparing us to be the loving adults we are, so today, Bride and Groom want to make special recognition of their parents today, for making today possible. I speak for everyone here when we say “Thank You mom’s and dad’s for beginning in Groom and Bride something so special. (Now Bride and Groom present flowers to their parents)
•Words on Love or Marriage
•Blessing of Rings
•Exchange of Rings & Vows
•Reading #2
•Prayer
A prayer can be done religiously or a spoken blessing from a guest, parent, or sponsor.
•Couple Unity Activity
The couple can light a unity candle, complete the sand ceremony, or drink from a chalice. The drinking of wine or pseudo-wine can be done in a religious, spiritual, or earthy way. No matter what activity is used, its the couples first formal act as husband and wife.
•Joining of the Children
This is where brides and grooms have an opportunity to include their children in the ceremony. This may include a blessing, exchange of vows of commitment of care, and exchange of gifts, medallions, or rings.
•Blessing
•Pronouncement of Marriage
Formal legal declaration of unity.
•Announcement of Marriage
•Conclusion
•Breaking of the glass (combined Christian/Jewish)
•Jumping the Broom
•Recessional
May be a straight forward exiting of the bride, groom, and wedding party or it can include the groom picking up the bride and carrying her away before the wedding party recesses.
•Receiving Line