Weddingbee Blog

So I mentioned two important things about our ceremony: 1) We aren’t writing our own vows and 2) we’re doing a wine-box ceremony.

Before becoming obsessed with all things wedding, the only ritual I knew of for a wedding ceremony was the unity candle. Then I stumbled into the glorious world of wedding blogging and learned about sand ceremonies, ring-warming ceremonies, handfastings, and oh my the list goes on. This was great for me since I have an irrational fear of setting my veil on fire.

I surprisingly could not find an appropriate image of a bride setting her veil on fire, so here is a very technical drawing by me showing you exactly how I imagine this playing out. Oh, and my husband-to-be is wearing a top hat because he thinks he’s Abe Lincoln.

Anyway, one of the lovely rituals I came across was the wine-box ceremony. As soon as I saw it I knew it would be perfect for us. After all, the dude and I are a couple of winos. Seriously, we can’t get enough of the stuff. Actually, we’re not that picky about the type of booze we drink, so I think we might just be drunks, but it makes you sound much more acceptable to people when you tell them you enjoy wine and the finer things in life.

The way the wine-box ceremony works is you find yourself a nice wine box that can be sealed up:

Image via Esty shop vonderberry77

Image via Esty shop tenahseetreasures

Image via True Fabrications

And a nice bottle of wine:

Image via Castelli Martinozzi

Ridiculously long, but totally necessary sidebar: Please, please, please…as a self-professed wino, I am begging you not to run to the nearest wine & liquor store and pick up the cheapest bottle you can find. Do your research! Red wines have a much longer shelf life than white wines, and even then certain types age better than others. Even though we know a teeny bit about wine we stopped by our local wine shop and talked with the owner about the best wines to choose. He also taught us about the best ways to store it. Knowledge is power!

Now all you need are your letters and something to seal the box with.

At some point before our wedding we will sit down and write letters to each other. The letters will express our thoughts about why we fell in love with each other, why we think the other person is awesome, and our hopes for our future together. Because we are too lazy/shy to write and read our own vows, this is a perfect way for us to privately share our feelings for each other.

During the ceremony the box (with the bottle of wine in it) will be on display. We will take our letters to each other, place them inside the box, and seal it up. (We’ve decided to use a lock and key, but you can also use a hammer and nails.)

And then our officiant will read the following passage:

Bride and Groom, should you ever find your marriage enduring insurmountable hardships, you are to as a couple open this box, sit and drink the wine together, then separate and read the letters you wrote to one another when you were united as a couple in marriage. By reading these love letters you will reflect upon the reasons you fell in love and chose to marry each other here today.

The hope is, however, that you will never have a reason to open this box. And if this is the case, you are to open this box to share and enjoy on your 5th* wedding anniversary!

We’ve decided that whenever we do open the box we will replace it with new letters and a new bottle of wine to be opened on subsequent anniversaries.

What kind of special rituals are you incorporating into your ceremony? Does anyone else out there suffer from veil-arson-phobia?

*You can make this any number of years you want. I’ve seen 10, 15, 20, etc. I’ve also seen one year. (This is for all you white-wine drinkers out there!)