Category Archive

Alternative Wedding Ceremony Ideas & Examples

We’ve got SO much wedding ceremony advice like how to officiate a wedding, tons of wedding ceremony readings, a bazillion wedding ceremony scripts, and even wedding vow examples! We’ve also got info about handfasting and other unity ceremonies. You’ll want to start here: Wedding Ceremony 101.

Our big gay pagan rainbow woodland festival wedding

Wrestle power from the government with this blessing for your nonlegal wedding

I was browsing through Molly and Laurie’s wedding photos and came across an officiant’s blessing that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The couple said their vows in Washington before the state had legalized gay marriage, and their celebrant closed the ceremony with this statement:

14691026873 2030edb64c c alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Proudfeet! Turning Bilbo’s birthday speech into geektacular vows

Remember Proudfeet from Bilbo’s birthday speech in Lord of the Rings? Heather and John, instead of using traditional vows, decided to adapt the awesome speech for their ceremony, including a perfectly-timed shout-out to “Proudfeet.” See how they did it!

Take “wedding in the round” to the next level: set up stations for your ceremony

In a typical wedding in the round, guests surround the couple for the duration of the ceremony. Sometimes guests are seated, sometimes they stand, sometimes they’re arrayed in a circle around the couple, and we’ve even seen them arranged in a spiral! Adam and Lynn went a step further. A few steps actually. They walked around the circle themselves, stopping at different stations to complete their ceremony.

hand washing ceremony alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Start fresh with this hand-washing unity ceremony

Offbeat Bride reader Adrianne informed us about a special unity ceremony she’s doing with her sweetie. We just had to share it with ALL y’all…

nature themed ceremony alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

A ceremony script that harnesses the power and the beauty of nature

In particular, I wanted to highlight the importance of nature and beauty in my ceremony, and I couldn’t find anything that addressed that. So, I decided to write those sections myself. If other couples are looking for something similar, I wanted to offer what I came up with as inspiration. Feel free to copy or use this as a basis for your own ceremony scripts…

arm wrestling in front of the officient alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Tales from behind the altar: The many roles of a wedding officiant

I am an officiant in the state of Georgia. Recently a bride asked me, “What do you do when you arrive at the venue?” and I had a time explaining it. So, this piece is about what a minister/officiant does before, during and after a ceremony. I thought perhaps this might help couples understand how it works from my perspective.