When it came to our ceremony, for a while I was at a bit of a loss. I wanted it customized to us, and I wanted it short, but I didn’t know how to go about that. I thought that maybe wedding ceremonies had to include certain elements to make them official? I was not entirely sure. I haven’t been to many weddings. After much research I came to realize that we really could do anything we wanted. From there I started to read everything I could on wedding ceremonies and pulled out certain pieces I liked. I had brainstormed all different words, saying, verses, prayers and quotes that I thought would work well. From there, I took them to Mr. Buck and asked for his input and he was able to narrow down the list. From there I continued to write our ceremony all by my little self.
I’ve shared a lot on Weddingbee, and while I love you all dearly, I plan to keep what was said during our ceremony between us and those that attended. I do hope you understand, but I will outline a few bits and pieces.
My dad had practiced over and over the perfect response for when the officiant asked “who gives this bride away?” So naturally, my dad nailed it with “her mother and I do.”
From there, our officiant opened in a word of prayer asking for our savior to bless this day and for us to remember there is nothing more precious than the gift of loving each other.
Our vows were pretty short and very straight forward. In fact, it was only one sentence and more details and customization were actually put into our ring exchange. Unconventional? Maybe. But, it just seemed to work well for us.
During our ring exchange we did promise to always make one another laugh. It’s something we’re good at it, so might as well promise it during the most important promise of our life.
Our ceremony was a whole 15 minutes tops, including the processional. While we may not have had fancy rituals—like a sand ceremony or wine box ceremony—we stayed true to ourselves by keeping it simple. It was, indeed, short and sweet, but Mr. Buck and I wrote every word of it.
Where did you find inspiration for what to include in your ceremony?
*Photos by Martin’s Photography
The bridesmaids share a view out the window
The boys shake their nerves and take photos
I talk about my whipped cream dress
The girls have fun getting glam
We get our hair done and grub down on some food delivered by dad
Sounds like you had a really special ceremony. We used mostly our officiants normal ceremony, but added some reading and elements that were personal to us. I think our ceremony ended up being 20 mins. I think 15-25 mins is the perfect ceremony length 
I love that you wrote the entire ceremony – it makes it so personal. We had our friend/officiant do a basic outline, to which I added/changed things around/etc. I loved how much it reflected us as a couple!
Mrs. Doe, Northern California Age and Occupation: 24, Real Estate Assistant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Recycling Manager Engagement Date: December 25, 2010 Wedding Date: May 2012 Venue: Monte Verde Inn About Me: I’m a Rat Pack fan and a Christmas nut that loves to read, good wine, cheesy ’80s movies and ’90s sitcoms. My wiener dog with an attitude problem and lazy basset hound are my constant source of entertainment. He's a hunter and I like cooking so it's not rare to see wild game on our dinner menu. Both of us were born and raised in a small historic farming town where our feet are still firmly planted. We have been together for nearly a decade and have shared many life experiences together, including birthdays that are only one day apart. We are two old souls that are creating our long-awaited wedding with loads of tradition that blends our two styles into rustic elegance in the foothills of Northern California.
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