The Wedding Wardrobe - Caroline and David's Wedding

Pagan Rituals and Traditions - The Wreath Ceremony
We have both been married before and therefore chose a civil wedding set in a grand building - Newstead Abbey. As most civil ceremonies can be a little lack lustre and short we decided that we wanted to add a symbolic gesture as part of the ceremony.
We also wanted as little involvement of the registrar as possible, so that we were virtually marrying each other ourselves!
We both enjoy the outdoors and very much appreciate the beautiful land we live in, and David is very much a Pagan at heart. We thought it would be a wonderful idea to bring a little paganism into the wedding as a way of expressing our love for each other.
We adapted a wreath ceremony that we found on the internet so that the flowers could be found locally and so that the children could be involved saying the words and adding the flowers to the wreath.

Wreath Ceremony

An ivy wreath is being used as the base (introduced by a friend who will relate it to the ivy's traditional meanings, including the marital connection). Various friends and family members will add sprigs of various plants and flowers with their traditional marriage related meanings.

Julie: (Placing wreath on table). This wreath symbolizes the marriage that David and Caroline are celebrating here today. We, their family and friends, will create a visual symbol of their vows… A wreath that will decorate their home, as love decorates their lives. This wreath will let them remember the love shared by all of us here today.

Steve: The wreath has been created from ivy, a traditional symbol of matrimony, fidelity and friendship. The circular shape of the wreath mirrors the rings that David and Caroline have exchanged and symbolizes the never ending devotion that they pledge to each other on this day.
Ivy does not "feed upon" the tree or stone it clings to which is important to its symbolism.
Nothing can separate ivy from a tree it has once embraced and if the tree falls the ivy remains embraced around it. But the ivy is held to the ground by its own roots. It gets nothing from the substance of the companion and though it dies on the same spot, it dies in its own time, making its own independent gesture. Today David and Caroline have cemented the bond that they share but they have not ceased to grow as individuals.

Ruth: These are branches of Heather a traditional symbol of good luck. These are added to the wreath with a wish that David and Mummy never lose their patience and humour which helps them through the roughest times and which enrich their daily life together.

Cathy: This Rosemary and Forget-me-nots symbolize remembrance. I add this to the wreath with the wish that David and Caroline never allow each other to forget the way that they feel today, and that they will always recall the romance and passion that they felt on the day of their meeting. This Tarragon symbolizes the unselfish regard with which they should treat one another, today and always.

Ellie: I add Violets and Snowdrops which symbolize faithfulness and hope. David and Mummy will need these traits throughout their lives together. Their faith and trust in one another will be strengthened as time goes on. Without hope there is no chance of success. With hope they will realize that they can achieve all their goals.

Ele: These flowers symbolize the passion (hold up Red Roses before adding to wreath), the beauty (hold up Orchids) and unity (hold up Red and White Roses) that Dad and Caroline feel today. May they always take the time to find the beauty around them, the passion within them and to feel the strength that their unity gives them. May they always recall and honour their vows made this day

The Wreath was made up by my local florist Tracy who is a personal friend and owns "Options Florist" in Eastwood. Tracy put a lot of effort into making this wreath for us, which we really appreciated!!
The base is an ivy wreath made in oasis. Tracy then used files (plastic test tubes), which you normally buy orchids in, to place each of the flowers or herbs in. This was particularly important for the forget-me-nots and snowdrops as they would wilt otherwise. We had these growing in the garden and I literally picked them as I was leaving the house! During the ceremony as each person read out their readings they held up the flowers then pushed them into the oasis.
We thoroughly enjoyed this part of the ceremony and all of the guests thought it was very poignant and very enjoyable to watch!

If you are interested in speaking to Tracy about your own wedding flowers and any other challenges you may have, you can contact her at:

Options Florist, 41 Nottingham Road, Eastwood, Nottingham, NG16 3AN Tel: 01773 760792