One wedding tradition that seems to be an underlying theme in all weddings, no matter the religion or country, is to have some kind of a wedding prayer, or many different wedding prayers at different times during your wedding ceremony. A wedding prayer can be performed by your minister, or person performing the wedding ceremony, by a family member, or other spiritual adviser with whom you are close. There is no set number of different kinds of wedding prayer that you will be held to, I believe our wedding had three or four different prayers, including a time when my husband and I knelt at a prayer bench to pray. The different kinds of wedding prayer are meant to ask God’s blessing and His presence during the service. Typically, there are two different times during your wedding ceremony when a prayer will be offered. To help you have some idea of the typical kinds of wedding prayer found in a wedding ceremony, here is a little guide to help you out.
The Invocation Wedding Prayer
The invocation is the first kind of wedding prayer that will be offered. It is typically done by the minister, and is meant to “invoke” or ask God’s presence in the service. Also, it is asking the Lord to bless the service that is about to begin. Your minister should have a prayer that he typically uses for weddings, so you shouldn’t need to worry about it. If you like, you can ask your minister what he usually says. When we sat down with our pastor to go over the order of the ceremony, he explained what he would be asking for in each prayer so that we understood how the service would flow together. It was really helpful.
The Second Wedding Prayer
So I didn’t know what to call the second wedding prayer, so I’ve aptly named it the second one. The second wedding prayer is typically done after the wedding vows and the rings have been exchanged. It is asking God’s blessing and care on the couple as they start their new lives together – and strength to make it through the hard times. This prayer can be done by the minister, or by a family member or person close to the bride and groom.
Other Wedding Prayers
There are several places you can insert other wedding prayers into your wedding ceremony. As I mentioned before, my husband and I had a prayer bench where we knelt to pray after the unity candle. Also, we had a close family member come and read scripture during our wedding ceremony, and say a short sermon about marriage. Then, after he was finished speaking, he said another wedding prayer asking the Lord to bless our marriage.
A wedding prayer is an important aspect of your wedding ceremony. Not only is it a wedding tradition that has been around for generations, but a time of asking God’s blessings on your lives together in your marriage. Hope this little guide to the different wedding prayers has helped.
Tags: invocation, Wedding Ceremony, wedding prayer, wedding prayers
Depending on your culture or religion, you may have several different options when it comes to what kinds of wedding prayers will be offered during your wedding ceremony. Sometimes, the officiant offers some personal and improvised wedding prayers or a specially written wedding prayer calling for the long life and never ending love for the bride and groom. Other wedding customs have the officiant or other person with a role in the wedding ceremony, such as a family member of the bride and groom reading wedding prayers from a special book. A couple may be able to look through the different wedding prayers available to them, such as in one of these special prayer books and choose a prayer for their marriage, or they may write their own wedding prayers and give them to the officiant to read during their wedding ceremony. Still other cultures and religions have the couple offering their own wedding prayers to the Lord for His blessings and favor upon their new marriage. This is what my husband and I did in our wedding ceremony, and I would advise it to anyone.