Stone blessings are a meaningful and simple way to involve loved ones in the wedding day.

 

 

 

Imagine this… 

 

It’s the day of your wedding and your ceremony’s starting soon. The sky’s mostly clear, with only a few small clouds stretched white and wispy across the blue. The wedding altar’s been placed in the sun and draped in flowers and ivy, and all around it, birds call out to each other in bright, happy song. 

 

As your friends and family begin to arrive, each one pulls a stone from their pocket or purse. 

 

Some of the stones are small and colorful, some are smoothed by water, and others are rough and strong, like they’ve just been plucked from a mountain path. Each friend holds the stone they’ve brought in their hands for a moment, smiling, filling it with love and warmth for you and your sweetheart. Then they set it down softly on the grass and take a seat around the altar. 

 

With each new stone, they form a circle around the ceremony space, surrounding other guests, the officiant, and the altar with blessings, love, and warmth. 

In just a few moments, you’ll step inside this circle with your sweetheart, soaking up all that good energy as you say your vows! 

 

If you’re like us, scenes like these make your heart sing! 

 

We love heartfelt rituals like this one, because they aren’t expensive and don’t require hours of extra planning for couples and their wedding officiants to include. They allow friends and family members to join in the ceremony in a meaningful way, and they’re also incredibly versatile, which makes them easy to adapt to your own wedding celebration.

 

Stone blessing ceremonies have been around for ages, but not everyone will know what to expect. Ask your wedding officiant to say a few words during the ceremony about what the stones represent, and how much your loved ones (and their blessings!) mean to you.

 

If you’ve asked a friend or family member to perform your wedding, an experience that will make the day truly special, their blessing stone can be placed closest to the wedding altar or podium as the first stone in the circle. 

 

 

Blessings for your marriage

 

As we mentioned, stone ceremonies can be incredibly versatile! 

Here are just a few examples: 

 

Pagan weddings… 

 

The blessing described above offers couples and their guests an outdoorsy, earthy, witchy vibe. Because Wiccan, Druid, and other Pagan weddings of all types often take place outdoors and involve casting a circle and magically blessing the ceremony space, this type of stone blessing is a natural (pun intended) fit. Guests are encouraged to bring a stone from a place that’s especially meaningful to them, or that represents a hopeful wish for the couple’s future. 

 

Add in a beautiful wedding altar and handfasting ceremony, and this wedding day will be true magic.

 

Non religious or ‘Spiritual but not religious’ 

 

Stone blessings don’t belong to any particular religion or culture, making them versatile and easy to modify depending on how a couple wants their ceremony to look or feel. The blessings can have a religious or spiritual meaning to them, like the one above, but they don’t have to! 

 

As part of a non religious wedding, these stones simply represent joyful wishes for the future and add a distinctive aesthetic and energy to the day. 

 

Related: What is an SBNR Wedding Officiant & How Do You Become One?

 

 

Indoor ceremonies...

 

While we love the charm of an outdoor wedding, stone ceremonies can be easily adapted for many other spaces too, including indoor venues! 

 

Couples can ask their guests to place the stones in a decorative glass vase, or place them on a small table near the couple and their officiant, before they say their vows. For a polished, uniform look, couples can provide guests with stones that match their wedding colors, or the colors they’ve used to decorate their home.

 

Smooth, flat stones can even be written on! We recommend using permanent ink or paint to make these messages last.

 

Irish Blessing Stones...

 

An Irish blessing stone or wishing stone ceremony is a centuries-old tradition rooted in Ireland, and involves wishing on a stone before tossing it into a blessing bowl or wishing well to seal the wish. To make the memory of these sentiments more lasting, guests can also write their wishes down on notecards, to remind the happy couple for years to come of their love and support. 

 

Related: 5 Irish Wedding Traditions for an Inspired Ceremony

 

Waterfront and beach weddings... 

 

In another tradition involving water, couples ask their loved ones to bless a stone before tossing it into a lake, river, or ocean -- a tradition that adds a welcome twist to a waterfront or beach wedding. This lighthearted alternative to the ever-popular sand pouring or sand blending ceremony allows everyone present to participate! 

 

 

 

As you can see, stone blessing ceremonies can look many different ways! 

 

 

They’re easily adapted to any space, and to any tastes, and give friends and family a unique way to participate in the wedding ceremony. 

 

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You might also like: 

 

• A Simple Handfasting Ceremony Script (Sample Wedding Script)

 

• Reading And Unity Candle Ceremony Script (Sample Wedding Script)
   

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