TWO “I DO” DON’TS
As one of the Top Wedding Officiants in Southern California, two things that always come up at weddings are the rings and unity candles. Let’s start off with the rings.
While Ring bearers can be very cute, the loss of the rings can be very devastating. So I tell my brides that the ring bearer is only a ceremonial position. Three times in the past, when they insisted upon it, the rings fell off the pillow or got completely lost in the grass. As you can imagine, it caused a major disruption during the ceremony. I always recommend to have the Best Man hold both rings, and have the seated in the audience after his walk down the aisle (unless he’s feel old enough for the responsibility). Also, instead of leaving the rings in a box where the Best Man’s pants would be “poofy”, place them in a pouch. I usually give my couples a small organza drawstring pouch to place the rings in. This way they can’t fall through the hole in the pocket of the usually rented tuxedos, and can be easily spotted if they do.
Next, the Unity Candle Meltdown. The unity candle is an old tradition that many couples like to have at their ceremony. It’s beautiful and inspiring when done indoors. When done outdoors, it’s usually a disaster. So many times my brides have asked to do this outdoors, and I explain to them that even the slightest wind will extinguish those dreams. I recommend to them replace that with a Sand Ceremony. If they insist upon it, I recommend that they get hurricane lantern style candles, which do work on occasion but still have the possibility of failure. If they are having an outdoor wedding, and they have their heart set on a unity candle, I recommend they do it as part of their reception indoors. This way, it can be done easily and with low stress as to the possible outcome.
Alan Katz is the owner of So Cal Officiant and the Edgewater Wedding Chapel. He and his team of 15 wedding officiants perform nearly 1,000 ceremonies every year. Alan Katz ~ So Cal Officiant ~ http://www.SoCalOfficiant.com ~ (562) 435-4000 ~ (714) 453-9971
A lot of couples (like us) are having a cheap-o symbolic ring for the Ring Bearer to carry. We’re going with a fun and silly one (in keeping with our theme). but couples could also get very cheap rings that look real but don’t cost a lot or have symbolic value.