Non-denominational Weddings - Design Your Own Wedding

Celebrating Your Love and Commitment

When you are ready to publicly celebrate your love in your own special way I will be happy to support your vision of the ideal wedding. Of course a legal wedding will require that you have a marriage license and it is legally binding, including all the responsibilities and benefits that come with it. Design your own ceremony and I will preside as the official "priestess" and take care of the legal aspects.

Weddings a la Abraham ~

If we were standing in your physical shoes, our marriage vows would go exactly like this: "I like you pretty good, let's see how it goes." (Laughter.)

Instead, what you say is, "I hope that you will be able to live up to all of the impossible things that I have written down that you need to be. And I will hold you hostage every day of your life because my happiness depends on your being able to second-guess everything that I will ever want. (Pause.) Sign here." (Laughter.) - Abraham - Atlanta, GA

We may laugh, but there is a good bit of truth in the quote above. So often people expect their partners to fill their every need and desire, but in reality marriage is a friendship, rather than an obligation. Ideally, it will inspire both of you to feel uplifted and positive about life, as it allows each of you the freedom to be fully who you are.

Handfasting

In addition to legal weddings, I also offer the Handfasting Ceremony, which is traditionally a commitment for a year and a day. Or you can design any sort of ceremony you like. These alternative ceremonies may or may not be legally binding, depending on what you choose. They are a wonderful way to celebrate your love and share

your commitment with friends and family.

Handfasting is the traditional ceremony of "tying the knot" in a cord around the wrists of the couple as they hold crossed hands, left hand to left and right to right, forming the figure eight pattern which symbolizes infinity and represents the circles of sun and the moon (the masculine and feminine principles). The colors of the cord can indicate the intentions of the couple.

Symbolic Colors of the Cord:

White - peace, sincerity and devotion

Pink - romance, partnership, honor and happiness
Gold - unity, prosperity, and longevity
Silver - creativity and protection
Light Blue - patience and understanding
Dark Blue - long life and safe journeys
Green - health, prosperity, luck, fertility and beauty
Red - courage, strength and passion
Yellow - wisdom and harmony
Brown - home, healing and animals

Jumping The Broomstick

Jumping over a broomstick is another part of the Handfasting ceremony from the British Isles. The practice is also found among the Gypsies of Europe and in parts of Africa. It is usually the final phase of the wedding ceremony, indicating the symbolic act of stepping into a new life, or crossing the threshold into marriage.

The Hallows and a Sense of Place

I like to call in the spirits of the four directions and include the four elemental symbols from Celtic mythology know as the "Sacred Hallows:"

Cup or cauldron ~ Water (West)
Sword or athame ~ Fire (South)
Stone or crystal ~ Earth (East)
Staff or wand ~ Air (North)

(Note: Some traditions put Air in the East and Stone/Earth in the North, but for many reasons I feel that this is a distortion of the original understanding of the directions and elements. Never-the-less, it is up to you to choose what feels right to you.)

Of course, any symbols meaningful to you and your friends or relatives can be included.

To arrange your own

personal Wedding Ceremony

anywhere in Northern California

E-mail Bernadette Wulf
Universal Life Church Minister

Phone 707-824-0675