ceremony

We are having a cellist play during the ceremony.  As a former violist, I am so excited!

Each of our GM and BM will walk down the aisle separately.  We attended a wedding where each attendant shook the groom's hand (or gave him a high five or hug) at the end of the aisle.  It really eased his tension and was very touching.  We are planning to do this at our wedding.

We have three little ring bearers.  One will carry the pillow.  I bought the one below from Michael's and will be added a colored ribbon.  The pearls match the pattern that will be on the cake.

The two twins will carry down a "Here Comes the Bride" banner. 

I made mine by designing it on power point and having my dad (a mapmaker) blow it up really big.  Then, I used spray glue to attach it to a white board, poked holes, and added ribbon.  It matches my theme and uses my flower on it.

At the end of the ceremony, the boys followed us back down the aisle with this sign:

My father will be walking me down the aisle.  My mother will meet us at the end to help give me away.  I wanted to honor her for all that she has done in my life.

My FI is Mexican and we will be doing the trece arras tradition.  My groom will give me 13 coins to signify that he will support and take care of me over the years.  Orignally the tradition meant taking care of me financially, but we mean it in a broader sense.  By accepting the coins, I am pledging to trust in him.  Most people buy special gold coins to be the arras, but we are using state quarters from the different places we visited on our cross country road trip last summer.

We are also doing an unusual unity ceremony.   Our mothers will pour water from a pitcher that signifies their heritage (Delft for my Dutch mother and terra cotta for my Mexican FMIL) into a common pitcher.  Then my FI and I will pour the water onto a tree that we will later plant.  During this time, the parents will pledge to support out love and help it grow.  We will give a rose to each mother to thank our parents for planting the seeds of a good marriage.

Songs:

Bridal party entrance: Suite No. 1 in G Major - Bach

Bride's Processional: Bridal March

Unity Ceremony: Grow Old WIth Me - Mary Chapin Carpenter

Recessional: Undecided, but some pop song played on cello