top of page
HIGHLAND CEREMONIES
sand ceremony
sand ceremony
1/1
Ceremony ideas
Thinking about something different to include in your ceremony?
Remembrance Candle
Often, weddings can be tinged with a little bit of sadness if someone very special to you is no longer with us. In those circumstances, lighting a remembrance candle at the beginning of the ceremony can be a beautiful thing to do. Because that can be a difficult moment, it's often better not to mention your loved ones by name, but simply for us to remember those who are no longer with us.
I can provide you with a beautiful candle inscribed simply with the words "We light this candle in memory of the loved ones who cannot be with us on our special day," along with your names and the date of the wedding.
Sand Ceremony
A sand ceremony is highly symbolic and is a great option for couples who also want to include slightly smaller members of their family. Getting your children involved in your ceremony is a wonderful way of ensuring they never forget the day and is particularly poignant if you're entering a marriage where there's going to be a blended family.
Sand is poured by each participant into a vessel and you all take turns doing so, ensuring there are layers of sand forming patterns whilst, at the same time, every member of the family makes promises to each other. Each colour of sand represents your individual personalities and these clearly show through. Separating the sand out again, however, is an impossible task, and represents the individuality but cohesiveness of your new family. You can include as many people as you like in this ceremony but the size of the vessel will need to take account of that.
You'll find a huge range of vessels online and what you choose simply depends on your taste and budget - you just need to ensure that you buy enough sand to fill it up completely with a little bit spare left over to top it up when it settles slightly.
Handfasting
Handfasting is one of the most ancient of rituals and was originally used as a way of couples being married - or tying the knot - in a simple ceremony. Vows were made, and their joined hands would be bound with a ribbon, or often their clan tartans to symbolise a unity of families.
Nowadays, you need to incorporate some legal wording in order to be married in the eyes of the law, but in years gone by, a simple handfasting was all it took.
Often, couples choose their colours and I'll create their braided ribbons for them with adornments to suit their taste.
In the image above, the couple chose two long ribbons. One of those was the groom's family tartan, and the other a length of material the same as the bride's dress.
This one had the groom's tartan braided in with the bride's favourite colour of purple and was finished off with silver thistles.
Sometimes, the braids or ribbon themselves aren't actually tied but simply placed symbolically around the couple's hands.
Whatever your choice of ribbon, braids or tartan, please just ask and I can guide you in the direction of several places that will create something stunning for you.
Quaich Ceremony
It probably wouldn't be a Highland wedding ceremony without at least a couple of drams of Uisge Beatha being consumed - that's whisky to you and me - and what better way to start off the celebrations than having a quaich ceremony after you've been pronounced as a married couple.
It's a pretty straightforward ceremony where both of you, and usually your groomsmen and bridesmaids, drink from a traditional Scottish two-handled drinking cup, or quaich. This most often also involves the parents of the bride and groom and so, depending on numbers, you need a fairly decent sized quaich!
Quaichs come in many materials from simple pewter or wood, to extremely ornate silver, and can be ordered with engraving. Having your names and the date of your marriage on them is a wonderful way to commemorate your day. Quaichs range in price from around £30 to several hundred, if you'd like one in silver.
And, of course, what you pour into the quaich for the ceremony can range just as much in price, from a drop of blended whisky to a 25 or 50 year old exquisite malt. Not many couples will stretch to over £32,000 for a bottle of Balvenie's 50 year old 'marriage' whisky, but, thankfully, you can still have a decent malt at a reasonable price. Perhaps you could think about choosing a whisky from a distillery local to where you'll be getting married - there are no shortage of them in Scotland!
bottom of page