From the article: Acknowledging the Death of a Parent at Your Wedding
Weddings are joyous occasions, but they're also a time for family to be together. When a parent has died, it can be hard to know how to honor them without ruining the joyous spirit of the day. About.com readers have shared many creative and loving ways to honor the dead at a wedding. We'd love to know how you plan to remember parents, grandparents or other important relatives who have passed on before your wedding day. How Will You Pay Respects
A poem instead of a candle ceremony
- My fiance’s father passed away very suddenly when i was 3 months pregnant nearly 6 years ago. I am a very sentimental person and i wanted to do a candle ceremony in our wedding with his two sisters to light it but he thought it was a little too sad for him and his family so I found another poem for the celebrant to read at the beginning of our ceremony. We are having the ceremony where my great grandfather had a house and we now have a family tree planted there with all who have passed on scattered under it, it feels like you are in a garden and you would not know there was a house there ever so i am also framing a picture of the house on a easel and getting all invited to sign around it for us to keep, so you will see the poem i chose goes really well for all because it goes for both sides now instead of just the one person. loved ones “Although we are separated physically, faith and love have bound us eternally. Though we cannot see them, we know they are here.
- —Guest Simone
Honoring the Dead with Flowers
- My fiance’s mother passed away 6 years ago. Also our grandfathers on both sides of our family, and his paternal grandmother have passed. His father is going to be his best man and his brother a groomsmen, and we are going to use his moms favorite flower as their boutennires, and also his living grandmother’s(his moms mother) corsage she will wear will be made up of the same flower. We will also leave the seat empty where his mom would be sitting and he will place a rose on it before he takes his place at the altar. Also our unity candle will have all of their names engraved on it.
- —Guest BB
Remembering our Grandparents
- My Nana passed away less than a year ago and my fiance’s Grampas passed several years ago. Both are very significant in our lives, so we plan to have photographs of them displayed with a coursage and boutonniere which will be taken to the cemetery the next day. Also my Reverend will mention their names in the blessing.
- —Guest Kim
Remembering my dad
- I plan to have my mom walk me down the aisle. She will be holding a bouquet that'll represent my dad. Before she sits down, she'll lay the bouquet on the seat next to her, the place that my dad would've sat if he were physically with us today.
- —ruthswu
