For couples looking for ways to involve their guests in the
wedding ceremony beyond things like responsive reading, the Irish ring warming
ceremony is a meaningful ritual that involves everyone. This ceremony is also
known as the ring blessing and is often performed instead of lighting the unity
candle. It's a sweet way to involve family and loved ones as they add their
own blessings, prayers and best wishes to the marriage.
How to incorporate ring warming ceremony into wedding
How you incorporate the ring warming into your wedding ceremony
is up to you. Here are a few ideas.
Passing the rings
Traditionally, rings were passed from one guest to another. If
you choose to go this route, the officiant can make an announcement at the
beginning of the ceremony letting guests know the rings will be passed around
and that each guest is invited to hold the ring and say a silent blessing or
prayer for the marriage before passing the ring to the person beside them. This
works best with smaller weddings as rings are handed to someone in the front
row and told to pass them on until they make their way back to the front. To
avoid the possibility of a dropped ring rolling along the floor beneath guests’
feet leading to a chaotic mass of people crawling around looking for the
missing ring, rings are usually tied with a piece of ring warming ribbon, place
in a ring warming ceremony box, or tied to the cushion carried by the ring
bearer as they are passed around.
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| Rings are often tied with ring warming ribbon |
Ring warming dish
Not everyone is comfortable with passing the rings around,
especially in larger gatherings as this creates the feel of a lot of dead time.
Instead of passing the rings, some couples choose to place them in an
attractive ring warming dish near the entrance with a sign inviting guests to
warm the ring with prayers, blessing and well wishes for the couple. This is
also a good place to display the guest book and pen.
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| Ring warming dish |
Ideas for ring warming ceremony songs
If you do decide to pass the rings, its nice to play meaningful
music. Song choice can be instrumental or with lyrics. It can be contemporary like
All You Need Is Love by the Beatles, a song with a folksy flare like Christina
Perri’s, Thousand Years of Arms, or a Christian love song like The
Prayer by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church. Song choice is a perfect opportunity for the couple to share their love for each other with their guests.
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| Ring warming box |
How long does a ring warming ceremony take?
How long the ring warming ceremony takes will depend on
whether or not you pass the rings around or have them in a dish at the
entrance. If you pass them around, how long the ceremony will take will depend
on how many guests you have and how long they take to pray over the rings. It is one of the
things you’ll want to take into consideration, because even with music playing
while the rings are passed, the couple will be standing up front. If it takes a
long time, it can start to create that awkward feeling that you should be “doing”
something.
Irish wedding blessing
While the Irish
wedding blessing isn’t part of the ring warming ceremony, it is certainly
worth mentioning because the two pair to make a uniquely special wedding. While
no one knows for sure where this blessing originated, some attribute it to Ireland’s
St. Patrick and traditionally, it is said by the father of the bride to the
groom during the ring exchange ceremony.
May the Road Rise Up To Meet You
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rain fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
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