Here a a collection of sand ceremonies. Similar to a unity candle, the sand ceremony represents the joining of two lives into one. This ceremony is especially well suited for summer weddings, lake weddings, and beach weddings.
1. As the minister says the following wording, the couple alternately pours sand into the glass vessel to form a layered design with the sand. “________________ and _____________, today you join your separate lives together. The two separate vessels of sand symbolize your separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends. They represent all that you have been as an individual. They also represent your lives before today. As these two vessels of sand are poured into the third vessel, the individual vessels of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual vessels, so will your marriage be.”
2. As the minister says the following wording, the couple alternately pours sand into the glass vessel. “This sand represents the days of your life before today. As they are joined together so shall the days of your life be joined together.”
3. “The uniting of two individuals into one is symbolized by the pouring of sand. Inseparable we are like the grains of sand united now. The individual is emptied into the sea of love and no longer can be separated, but will be forever and always entwined as one.
4. “__________ and _____________ may your love always be as constant as the never-ending waves, flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea. Just as the waters touch and nourish the many shores of the earth, may your love be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Just as there will never be a morning without the ocean’s flow, there will never be a day without your love for each other. You have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings. This beautiful union is symbolized through the combining of these two individual vessels of sand. The first jar represents you __________, in all that you were, all that you are, and the other vessel represents you, __________, in all that you were. Each one holds its own unique beauty, strength, and character. They can stand on their own and be whole, without need of anything else. However when these two are blended together they create an entirely new and extraordinarily more intricate entity. Each grain of sand brings to the mixture a lasting beauty that forever enriches the combination. When you pour the sand into this common vessel, it symbolized the union of your two lives. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual vessels – so will your marriage be a molding of two individual personalities, bonded together forming one heart, one love. The life that each of you experienced up to now, individually, will hereafter be an inseparable unit, for the two shall become one.”
5. “Today, _________ and _____________, you are making a commitment of your eternal commitment for one another. As you each hold your sand in separate vessels, the sand represents your lives to this moment; individual and unique. As you now combine your sand together, your lives also join together as one.”