Planning Religious Wedding Ceremonies-Buddhism and Eatsern Orthodoxy

Religious Ceremonies

Some religious give you opportunity to personalize the vows, readings, or music but limit your choices to sacred material. Others, let you diverse the ceremony, a nice option for couples struggling to find a religious service that meets interfaith needs.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, marriage is a secular arrangement, so there is no prescribed ceremony or liturgy. This has made those weddings increasingly popular, as it leaves a lot of leeway for the couple to make the ceremony personal to them, as long as it doesn't contradict the spirit of the dharma or the teachings of the Buddha. A priest of Buddhist preceptor usually conducts the ceremony, though in some cultures, the union may be blessed by a monk. You will find that most Buddhist officiants-priests and monks-are flexible as to where the ceremony takes place. But wherever the marriage occurs, incense is typically offered to the Buddha at the beginning of the ceremony, which may be announced by the sounding of a gong. Usually a shrine holds flowers, a candle, incense, an image of the Buddha, and possibly a bowl of fruit. In most ceremonies, you'd hear at least one sutra chant-a means of expressing gratitude to the Buddha.

Eastern Orthodoxy

Those ceremonies overflow with rituals-many of which are represent in threes to represent the Holy Trinity. Marriage is a sacrament, so weddings take place in a church and last about an hour. The bride and groom generally do not recite any vows. The ceremony begins with the exchange of rings, which go back and forth between the couple three times and are actually placed on the ring finger of the right hand. After the priest initial blessing, the couple' hands remain joined for the remainder of the ceremony. The highlight of the ceremony is the crowning, wherein the best man swaps the crowns 3 times between the bride and the groom. As soon as the priest removes the crowns, the couple is married. The bride and groom takes sips of wine from a shared cup as a reminder that they will henceforth share everything, and the priest leads them in walking three times around the altar for their first steps together as a married couple.

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