Are you getting married this year? If you have loved ones that may have passed on or can’t make the journey to your wedding ceremony, and you want to find a way to honour them, but you don’t want to turn it into a sob fest, I got you. Let’s find the best way to honour passed loves ones at your wedding ceremony!
How Do We Honour Passed Loved Ones?
I get this question a lot – people have family members that have passed away that are not going to be with them during the wedding ceremony and they want to do something to honour them. This also works really well for people that can’t make the journey; this happened a lot during COVID. We had weddings where parents, grandparents and other loved ones could not attend, and the couple getting married wanted to do something to honour them.
Remember: Celebration, Not Sadness
A lot of times, especially with family members that have passed away, it’s a very emotional thing. And what a wedding ceremony is, is a celebration. So, how do we honour these loved ones without turning it into a sob fest? I’ve seen it before where someone mentions their father or their mom who has passed away, and it triggers something in one of the partners, causing them to cry and be unable to enjoy the happy moment.
The Best Way to Honour Deceased Loved Ones
What I have found is the best way to honour someone during a wedding ceremony is to make it light-hearted and celebratory. I have a set way that I like to incorporate honouring loved ones who have passed into a ceremony. At the beginning of the ceremony, while I’m welcoming your guests, I will include some words of honour and celebration. Check out my ceremony script for this below!
Ceremony Script: Celebratory Words to Honour Passed Loved Ones
“Welcome to this absolutely incredible day! Today is a celebration – a celebration of love, a celebration of commitment, of friendship, and of family. But really today is a celebration of these two amazing individuals getting married.
Now, of course, not everyone Taylor and Cory wanted to be here today was able to make it; most notably is Cory’s mother, Jennifer, and the Taylor’s father, John. Although they’re not here in person, their presence is truly felt. We all know they have smiles on their faces seeing you two so happy getting married today.”
Celebrate the Love
The goal with these words is to make it celebratory. We don’t need to say that they’ve passed on or why they’re not there. But we’re still honouring them because we’re saying their presence is felt and we know they’re happy for you.
It’s just a beautiful way to honour deceased loved ones without turning it into something very, very sad, by doing it in a celebratory way. I truly believe that it’s honouring to the family members, but it also encompasses this element of love, joy, and celebration.
So if you want to honour family members that can’t be at your wedding ceremony, remember to honour their love and honour their presence with joy and celebration. Because I can guarantee you that’s what they would want!
For more ceremony resources, check out our wedding blog or get in touch!
