Making a success of your mixed faith ceremony is your top priority. And mine, too!
Today, love encounters are full of culture and diversity. This is the main reason why new couples are engaged towards mixed weddings. And mixed faith ceremony!
Religions are numerous. And your ceremony is the masterpiece of your BIG DAY! This is exactly what you want to be grateful for… Giving thanks for who you are, thanks to the faith you placed in your religion and your native culture.
So, now comes the important part: How to conceptualize a mixed faith ceremony that embodies our essence? How to share such a wealth of culture? How to ensure all the guests recognize themselves in the celebration?
To answer these questions, here are some responses from brides I have interviewed after planning their weddings. Let’s follow the experiences of Yuka, N’bia and Mary through my “wedding stories”.
How to conceptualize a mixed faith ceremony that embodies our essence?
Yuka and her beloved husband wanted to blend their two religions into their ceremony because they were complementary: incorporating traditional songs for Yuka and strong rites for her husband. “The officiant took time to create meaningful rites based on our stories and two religions.” The couple was anxious but really excited to discover their texts during their second meeting. “We could never have imagined what she created”. Our mixed faith ceremony was exactly how we were feeling all day long–full of joy, sincerity and love. The officiant included texts Yuka always heard when she was young. With the help of her grandmother, Yuka chose texts and songs from very old books that she gathered from a specific library. “And our officiant made it happen!” Songs and rites were perfectly harmonized into something beautiful.
Advice: Take enough time to discuss what each of you love in your culture. And rely on the knowledge of a professional to create the most personifying ceremony that you deserve.
How to share such a wealth of culture?
Definitely choose to hire two officiants. N’bia and Jefferson are different not only in character but also in culture. “And this is why we are so in love with each other!” says N’bia.
N’bia is muslim and Jefferson is catholic. And no one wanted to exclude the other’s religion. Thanks to the great help of their wedding planner, they gathered two religious officiants. One muslim and one catholic.
To avoid a very long and boring ceremony, they decided to translate each other’s text every four or six sentences. There were no rites, just time to say one’s prayer. As prayer is universal, this mixed faith ceremony was incredibly emotional and… natural. A ceremony that each of their 143 guests still remember today, months after the special day.
Advice: The two officiants should take time to explain what is the goal of the ceremony, for the couple, for them, and the audience. It has a real impact about how people react during the mixed faith ceremony.
How to ensure all the guests recognize themselves in the celebration?
Mary was very scared! How to get people connected to another religion that they are not used to practising? With lots of help from her sister and David’s aunt, Mary decided to ask if the selected texts were meaningful for the other religion’s side.
As soon as Mary and David chose the main guideline of their mixed faith ceremony, they hired an officiant. “It was an easy task,” admit David! “We took time to think about our differences and how we could involve our guests in each other’s religion. Mary saw part of the audience crying while the officiant was speaking. It was so emotional! “We were well advised by my sister and David’s aunt.” Jen (Mary’s sister) and Suzanne (David’s aunt) were happy they could help the couple to create their mixed faith ceremony. For sure, everyone felt blessed by this mixed ceremony.
Feel free to create your meaningful mixed faith ceremony. Follow your heart, and with all the respect you have for each other, make concessions. Love and marriage embrace all things!
