Unity Ceremony Ideas

A unity ceremony is a step usually included in the wedding ceremony and symbolizes the joining of lives, families, and communities. The beautiful thing about the variations in unity ceremonies ideas is that it showcases different couples’ unique backgrounds, beliefs, and creativity. So, in today’s post, I’ve decided to share some of the most popular and traditional ones out there but also some of my favorites.

Jumping the broom

This phrase and custom for marriage were used by enslaved Blacks who weren’t allowed to marry formally. To formalize their union, the tradition was to lay a broom on the ground and jump over it together[1].

But did you know that this heritage and history actually originated from the Asante of Ashanti Confederacy in the West African country of Ghana around the 18th century.

Yes! So, check this out; brooms were waved over the heads of married couples to ward off spirits. The couple would often but not always, jump over the broom at the end of the ceremony.[2] To the Asante, jumping over the broom symbolized the wife’s commitment or willingness to clean the courtyard of the new home she had joined; it expressed her overall commitment to the house.

It also represented the determination of who ran the household. Whoever jumped highest over the broom was the decision-maker of the household (usually the man). It’s worth noting that jumping of the broom does not add up to taking a “leap of faith.” Jumping the Broom did survive in the Americas, especially in the United States, among slaves from the Asante area.[3]

Planting a tree

This beautiful and meaningful custom represents the unwavering commitment of the couple to cultivate and nurture their love as it flourishes and matures with time. They engage in a joint activity of planting a tree, taking a vow to cherish and care for it as a tangible and symbolic representation of their sacred bond of matrimony.

The lighting of the Candle/ Joining the flame

This Judeo-Christian tradition is probably the most well-known wedding ritual symbolizing unity[4]. It is a more recent tradition than the previous one about half a century old). The mothers light the taper candles during this ceremony before taking their seats. The pillar candle is left unlit for the duration of the event. The couple will combine the flames from the taper candles to light the pillar candle together after their vows.

Wedding unity candle set on the altar table in Joliet, IL

Involve your guests or have a smaller group, such as your wedding party, and hold a candle and wax catcher. The parents can light the candle and pass the flame to the bride and groom. They will use it to light the pillar candle on the altar. For this to work nicely, the parents should way to light their candles after the couple has exchanged their vows. Another variation is displaying candles at the ceremony entrance and inviting friends and family to light one and say a blessing as they enter[5]. This ceremony signifies several generations of commitment.

Create a reaction

Do you and your spouse have scientific backgrounds? If so, why not celebrate your union by creating a safe chemical reaction during your vows? To add an element of surprise for your guests, don’t reveal what will occur when two liquids are mixed. Cindy and Eric’s wedding unity ceremony used a flask of sodium phosphate to symbolize the bride’s life before marriage. The flask of copper sulfate represents the groom’s life up until this point, which is also separate from the bride’s.

Marriage is the joining of two lives into one. As you pour these solutions together, they will form an insoluble copper phosphate suspension. This irreversible precipitation reaction represents the union of your lives, surrounded by God’s love.”