AMERICAN WEDDINGS BLOG
Stay up to date with the latest wedding ceremony trends, script writing inspiration, tips and advice for first-time officiants, and news that matters to couples and wedding ministers.
Stay up to date with the latest wedding ceremony trends, script writing inspiration, tips and advice for first-time officiants, and news that matters to couples and wedding ministers.
Published Thursday, Mar. 11th, 2021
This is the year for short, sweet, and small wedding ceremonies!
But no one said brevity has to mean boring… So, if you’re searching for a way to give a simple ceremony some more oomph, consider a handfasting!
‘Handfasting’ is a unique unity ritual that involves the wrapping of a cord or ribbon around a couples’ hands during a wedding ceremony to symbolize their commitment. The cord can be wrapped by a wedding officiant, a beloved friend, a spiritual elder, or the couple themselves.
Handfastings are visually beautiful and deeply meaningful.
The tying of two hands, wrists, or arms together symbolizes a joining of two lives and two journeys into one path, and a couple’s commitment to support and love one another each new day.
And because handfasting doesn't have any specific religious or spiritual meaning or rules, the tradition can be (and has been!) incorporated into any type of ceremony -- nonreligious or religious, interfaith, nondenominational or spiritual, big or small, traditional or nontraditional, virtual or in-person!
So to honor and celebrate our collective move toward more meaningful wedding ceremonies in 2021, and acknowledging that the last thing any couple needs while planning a wedding is more stress, we’ve written a Simple Handfasting Ceremony script.
Perfect for a microwedding, same-day elopement, virtual wedding ceremony, or any other plan you come up with!
Did you know? Handfasting is a traditional wedding custom. Common interpretations of handfasting are taken from Celtic and Pagan traditions that were popular in the British Isles -- thousands of years ago!
Explore the origins of ancient Paganism and learn how to add the magic of handfasting into your own wedding or commitment ceremony.
This deep dive into one of the most exciting trends in weddings is inspired by love stories that reach far back into the misty origins of human history, when Druids and Priestesses dispensed esoteric wisdom, cast powerful spells, and magic and nature were one-and-the-same.
Written and illustrated by AMM’s own Jessica Levey, this book is full of whimsical illustrations, and carefully researched and crafted stories and imagery that are your ticket to your own adventure.
We know that writing a ceremony from scratch can be a daunting process, especially if you’re officiating on short notice. To make things easier, we keep our Sample Script Library well stocked with wedding ceremony templates and sample scripts for you to choose from. These scripts are a great starting point, with sections to add to, leave out, or reorganize, as you personalize a ceremony.
We have more handfasting scripts, including a Pagan Handfasting Script with Fire, Flowers and Offerings!
Find them all in the Library using the Handfasting tag.
Updated August 16, 2021
Updated July 26, 2021
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