Personalizing Your Wedding Ceremony

Photo Credit: Victoria Onderdonk-Milne

Today on Aisle Files the focus is on the most meaningful aspect of a wedding: the ceremony. There are so many different and creative ways to personalize your wedding ceremony. Here in the Capital Region, Chaplain Victoria Onderdonk-Milne specializes in officiating wedding ceremonies and various life celebrations.

Victoria has a knack for creating customized wedding ceremonies for each couple she collaborates with, highlighting each couples’ “unique passions and personality.” She asks couples questions such as “What is important in your life as a couple and what gives essence to your life? Is it adventure, a favorite sport, eating out, a tradition or spending time with family or raising a special pet?” in order to gather special and important information to create the most significant ceremony possible.

Here are a few examples of some previous ceremonies that Victoria tailored and officiated:

The “Snowflake” Ceremony:

Photo Credit: Pinterest

One couple used snowflakes to symbolize “fun and adventure and pure white beginnings” in their relationship. Victoria “crafted real ice snowflakes, representing each of them as individuals” to use in their ceremony. “The couple placed the snowflakes into a bowl of water… which melted together and represented the unity of this couple into a new beginning in marriage.”

The Joining of Two Families:

Photo Credit: Etsy, New England Wreath

Another couple that Victoria collaborated with had a “family history of military service” which “was a source of union and pride for both the couple and their families.” During the unity portion of the ceremony, “the bride’s grandfather and the groom’s grandmother rose and handed the bride and groom decorated grapevine wreaths (symbolizing a circle of family love and the commemoration of military history)… the wreaths were placed… by the bride and groom to form two adjoining circles. The couple then tied the wreaths together… with ribbon representing that ‘TWO individuals, families, histories were now joined in ONE marriage’.”

In Memoriam:

Photo Credit: homelife.com.au

A final example is of a couple that “wanted to honor the presence and spirit of the loved ones who had passed away at their ceremony.” Victoria asked the couple to create ribbons from pieces of fabric from their passed family members’ special mementos (wedding dress, christening dress, and tie). She then tied those ribbons onto surrounding tree branches, creating a feeling of “comfort… as the ribbons moved gently with the wind.”

We hope that you find these few examples inspiring and encouraging as you begin to create your own personalized wedding ceremony. To learn more about Victoria and the special services that she offers, please visit her website by clicking here.