The symbolic ceremony allows you to get married as you never imagined before, with an intimate and customizable formula that other rites do not allow. Here’s how to organize it.
If your dream is to get married by entering the scene on the notes of your favourite song and exchanging your vows just like you see in the movies, then the ceremony that is right for you is the symbolic one!
It is not a religious ceremony because it does not take place in a church and has no religious value, but it is also not civil because it has no legal value: a symbolic ceremony could become the most romantic you have always dreamed of since it is customizable down to the last detail. But precisely because it is symbolic and nothing more, to make the marriage valid, you will then have to go to get married either in church or in the Municipality.
Leaving aside the paperwork which my team and I will be happy to take care of for you, you will only be left with the most beautiful part, that is to imagine the phases and elements that will make up your symbolic wedding.
Do you have no idea how to plan your symbolic ceremony and what to include? I give you some ideas to amaze your guests, but above all to organize a day that you will hardly forget!
The symbolic ceremony, unlike a wedding with a religious or civil rite, has no rules to follow, if not those of the party that you have always imagined! Plenty of room for imagination, so … Let yourself be inspired by our suggestions!
1. You can organize it anywhere, in any location
Have you spotted that wonderful Italian garden of that eighteenth-century villa by the lake? Or does that venue have a Miami-style swimming pool behind the house, which would be well suited for your yes? Any place is perfect for organizing a symbolic ceremony. You don’t need a church, you don’t even need a place officially authorized by the town hall: even a meadow on top of a mountain can become the right place to say a magical yes!
2. Everything is fully customizable
While a religious wedding must necessarily follow a liturgy and the civil one the formulas indicated by the Civil Code, in order for the wedding to be legally binding, in a symbolic ceremony you are completely free to say and do what you wish. Starting from the texts: you can decide to write the formulas to be pronounced by the officiant and by yourself, as well as if you want to exchange vows. Similarly, you can ask witnesses to prepare speeches to be delivered in front of all the guests at the end of the ceremony. Keyword: emotions and thrills!
3. The organization and the preparations follow only your tastes
Even the structure of the ceremony itself refers to your wishes. If you have always wanted to walk down the aisle strewn with rose petals, to the notes of “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston, you can do it without any problems during the symbolic ceremony. In the same way, you can decide to have a wrought iron arch decorated with wisteria or climbing roses, or you can choose to say yes on a boat in the middle of the lake, leaving all the guests to watch from the mainland under a vault of fairy lights hanging from the trees. Did you dream of surprising your future husband by organizing a flash mob in which all his friends could also be involved? With a symbolic ceremony you can do it!
4. Many rites for a single ceremony
During the symbolic ceremony, before the exchange of the rings (or any token of love you wish) particular rituals can be inserted that symbolize the union of the couple and can involve family and friends (for example, that of handfasting or rose ritual). Have you ever heard about them? Here you can find some useful information.
We will talk about different rituals more in depth in a future post: let me know if there is something special or curious you want me to write about!
Photo courtesy @Purewhite_photography