Your Civil Partnership Ceremony
Inspiration and Ideas
for your Personal and Unique Ceremony
Whichever type of ceremony you go for, you have the option of including the following:
- music to begin and end with (you choose pre-recorded or live)
- suitable words of introduction and welcome
- prayerful words which would include everyone regardless of faith or no faith
- an acknowledgement of the occasion and those present
- an address which would be all about you and written by me from the personal information I gather from you
- an exchange of personal vows by you
- an exchange of rings or other symbolic gifts by you
- some words written by me for you to send you off into your future together, perhaps a final blessing of you
- a pronouncement of you as 'partners for life' or whatever terms you wish me to use
The different options also ensure that should you wish to include ritual and readings/poems and guest involvement, you're free to do that.
You can have your ceremony inside or outside, with you and your friends standing or sitting, in the round or facing all one way, or in a horseshoe - we'll discuss how you envisage your ceremony set up and what will work practically as it will depend on your location.
So, here are ceremony ideas to inspire you! You might like some parts of one ceremony, but not the whole thing, or you might like ideas from several different ceremonies (all ceremony ideas can be adapted for participation by family and friends, or can be for just the two of you).
These ideas are the starting point for the Themed ceremony options, but can also provide ideas for the Bespoke - equally you might just find the ideas help you decide on the atmosphere you'd like, but you prefer a Basic ceremony.
‘Nature’ held in the round with stopping points on the circle for ritual, poems, songs, readings and music to reflect nature (the elements and the directions), and the levels of being human and in relationship.
‘Love’ all about love with music, poetry and readings chosen by you reflecting what love means to you, with an address that love underpins everything, as well as a hand-fasting and the lighting of a unity candle.
‘Celtic' inspired by all things Celtic with Celtic blessings and declarations of intent, a hand-fasting and candle lighting and the sharing of whisky drunk from the quaich - you might like to have Celtic music and book a harpist or piper and have live music.
‘Grace’ with elements from the Christian tradition which could be held in church or in any other location and include those aspects of Christianity which are meaningful for the both of you which could include The Lord's Prayer, hymns and or psalms, traditional vows, and any Christian ritual.
‘Sacred’ could be held in the round with ritual drawing from different Eastern traditions, music and sacred texts about love and relationship, ritual including sharing food and drink, and anointing one another and honouring one another with garlands of flowers.
‘Joy’ with elements and ritual from Buddhist traditions, including the ritual of the cups, prayer flag messages and the Metta prayer, along with chants or other prayers and wise words from Buddhist teachings about love and relating.
‘Beauty’ drawing from African and Shamanic traditions with a greeting ritual, making offerings to the directions, elements and animals, a ritual symbolising sharing life's bitterness and sweetness together, and perhaps drumming or singing.
‘Full Moon’ celebrating and honouring the Divine Feminine with offerings to Gaia; you might do this at the full moon, in the evening (outside even?) and include purifying the space, sharing wine and something sweet, a guided meditation and a sacred dance.
'Balance' celebrating and honouring the Masculine and Feminine in each of you, and between you, using some Pagan ritual and wording and some Native American ritual and blessings, some ideas from Taoism; it could be held inside or outside.
'Spirit Nature' with parts inspired by any or all of the ancient traditions which could include creating a sacred circle for your vow taking, a handfasting, jumping over the broom to finish with and a ritual planting of seeds or trees - could be inside or outside with a fire.
'Spirit Universal' could be as a universal experience and understanding, drawing from the ancient ethics and principles of mankind that are part of a lot of religion and spirituality but don't have to be - the idea of Spirit being completely accessible and present to everyone in every moment, and innate goodness being present and alive every moment in every human being, with a ritual using foods, a candle lighting ritual and a period of silence.
‘Light’ candle-lit and romantic inside with a very universal, healing feel could include honouring one another by blessing and anointing one another, a candle lighting ritual, and blessings relating to the elements or directions or levels of being human
‘Angels and Devas’ a blessing on your union from the Elemental / Angelic Realms which could be inside in a candle lit room and include a blessing of angelic protection and a prayer tree, a candle lighting ritual and an honouring of the directions and elements and the angels who relate to them.
‘Gratitude’ giving thanks for the joys and challenges of committed relationship could include readings and poems about relating, ritual using food and drink, the serenity prayer, honouring the four levels of being human, and a commitment ritual for keeping communication channels open throughout your future together.
'Handfasting' there are several versions of a traditional Handfasting which I can also offer which honour the Lord and Lady, the God and Goddess, the elements and the earth; also including creating a sacred circle, a handfasting, ritual using the broom and sword, and food and drink (we can use as much or as little of the format, wording and ideas).
Let me know if you'd like to hear about any ceremony suggestions in more detail, and know that you can take ideas from more than one theme which I can then weave together with your personal information, to create your ceremony.