WINE RITUALS: GENERAL EXAMPLES
(SECULAR TRADITIONAL)
1. [The Bride and Groom are each given a glass of wine by their respective parents. They then pour their wine into one large glass, and each take a sip].
(SECULAR TRADITIONAL - SWEET AND TART WINES)
2. [Celebrant pours tart wine into one of two glasses]
To symbolize your life together, I invite you to sip this tart wine to remind you of the difficult times you will encounter.
[Celebrant hands the glass to the Groom, who sips and passes the glass to the Bride. She sips, and then returns the glass to the Celebrant]
[Celebrant pours sweet wine into the second glass]
Now please sip this sweet wine to symbolize the richness of overcoming the difficult times.
[Celebrant hands the glass to the Groom, who sips and passes the glass to the Bride. She sips, and then returns the glass to the Celebrant.]
(SECULAR TRADITIONAL - BREAKING THE WINE GLASS AFTER DRINKING)
3. Groom: An ancient custom is to break the goblet after we share the wine. Drinking the wine reminds us of the great joys that lie ahead; the breaking of the goblet signifies the sorrows we may have to endure. The broken glass also symbolizes the uniqueness of this moment, for only our lips touch this goblet - no others ever will.
[Bride and Groom sip. The best man then wraps the glass in a napkin or puts it in a special cloth bag, and the Groom crushes the glass under his heel].
(SECULAR MODERN - RETURNING WINE TO THE EARTH AND BREAKING THE WINE GLASS)
4. ___________________ and ___________________, drink from this one glass as a symbol of your sharing of life.
[Bride and Groom each sip from the glass]
Now give the remaining wine back to the earth as a reminder that what nourishes us must also be nourished.
[The Groom pours the remainder of the wine into the ground]
Break the glass as a recognition of the transitory nature of life - and as a letting go of the past, living in the present, and looking toward the future.
[The Groom hands the glass to the Bride who wraps the glass in a napkin, or puts it in a special cloth bag. The Bride then hands the glass back to the Groom, and he crushes it under his heel].
(SPIRITUAL TRADITIONAL)
5. [Celebrant pours wine into two glasses and then holds them up]
We bless this wine. May the sharing of these cups symbolize the sharing of your life together - giving to each other and receiving from each other, with enthusiasm and delight.
[Celebrant hands the glasses to the couple]
Groom [toasting the bride]: Let this wine represent the spirit of life. By drinking this wine now, we show our desire to blend our spirits together making our union stronger. I drink with you to our marriage!
[Bride and Groom drink]
Bride [toasting the Groom]: Let this wine represent the joy and richness of life. By drinking this wine now, we show our determination to bring sweetness and love to our union. I drink with you to our marriage!
[Bride and Groom drink. They then exchange glasses and drink again]
Both Bride and Groom [toasting each other]: To our love and our marriage!
(SPIRITUAL TRADITIONAL - WITH BREAKING THE WINE GLASS)
6. [Celebrant pours wine into two glasses and then holds them up]
We bless this wine. May the sharing of these cups symbolize the sharing of your life together - giving to each other and receiving from each other, with enthusiasm and delight.
[Celebrant hands the glasses to the couple]
[Bride and Groom drink. They then exchange glasses and drink again]
___________________ and __________________, having sipped of your wine, only one tradition remains; breaking the wine glasses. A medieval interpretation of this custom has the Groom smash the cup against the northern wall, the direction from which the evil spirits were believed to originate. While the demons were busy getting tipsy, the couple would dash off to consummate the marriage so that, in their moment of vulnerability, their love would not be stolen. Another explanation holds that the drinking of the wine and the breaking of the glass is to remind you that what matters is the spirit, not the letter; the wine, not the glass. Having two glasses also provides you the opportunity for declaring that each is equal to the other. ___________________ and __________________, please join your hands and smash your glasses at the same time.
[The Bride and Groom each throw their glasses at a large rock several feet away - not close to any guests]
(SPIRITUAL MODERN - WINE WITH SWEET AND BITTER PROPERTIES)
7. The years of life are as a cup of wine poured out for you to drink. This "Cup of Life" contains within it a wine with certain properties that are sweet and symbolic of happiness, joy, hope, peace, love and delight. This same wine also holds some bitter properties that are symbolic of disappointment, sorrow, grief, despair, and life's trials and tribulations. Together the sweet and the bitter represent "Life's Journey" and all of the experiences that are a natural part of it. Those who drink deeply from the "Cup of Life" with an open heart and willing spirit, invite the full range of challenges and experiences into their being.
[Celebrant pours wine into goblet and holds it up]
This "Cup of Life" is symbolic of the pledges you have made to one another to share together the fullness of life. As you drink from this cup, you acknowledge to one another that your lives, until this moment separate, have become one. Drink now, and may the cup of your lives be sweet and full to running over.
[Celebrant hands goblet to groom, who drinks, then hands it to Bride, who drinks, and passes it back to Celebrant]
As you have shared this cup of wine, so may you share your lives. May all the sweetness that it holds for you be the sweeter because you taste it together. May you find life's joys heightened, it's bitterness sweetened, and all of life enriched by God's blessings upon you.
(SPIRITUAL MODERN - USING WATER AND WINE)
8. Water and wine represent the moon and the sun, the feminine and the masculine, and all other complimentary pairs in the universe. As you, ____________________ and ___________________, share water from the same cup, you drink in the feminine and receptive energies.
[The Bride and Groom drink from the water cup]
As you sip this wine cup, you drink in the active and masculine energies.
[The Bride and Groom drink from the wine cup]
May this sharing symbolize the sharing of your life together and the enrichment of your worlds as you compliment and harmonize with each other.
WINE RITUALS: SEASONAL EXAMPLES
(SECULAR MODERN AUTUMN - WINE WITH SWEET AND BITTER PROPERTIES)
9. {The vintage grapes of autumn have been harvested, and now _______________ & _______________ will use them to seal their covenant in a wine ceremony.}
The years of life are as a cup of wine poured out for you to drink. This "Cup of Life" contains within it a wine with certain properties that are sweet and symbolic of happiness, joy, hope, peace, love, and delight. This same wine also holds some bitter properties that are symbolic of disappointment, sorrow, grief, despair, and life's trials and tribulations. Together the sweet and the bitter represent "Life's Journey" and all of the experiences that are a natural part of it. Those who drink deeply from the "Cup of Life" with an open heart and willing spirit, invite the full range of challenges and experiences into their being.
[Celebrant pours wine into goblet and holds it up]
This "Cup of Life" is symbolic of the pledges you have made to one another to share together the fullness of life. As you drink from this cup, you acknowledge to one another that your lives, until this moment separate, have become one. Drink now, and may the cup of your lives be sweet and full to running over.
[Celebrant hands goblet to Groom, who drinks, then hands it to Bride, who drinks, and then passes it back to Celebrant]
As you have shared this cup of wine, so may you share your lives. May all the sweetness that it holds for you be the sweeter because you taste it together. May you find life's joys heightened, it's bitterness sweetened, and all of life enriched forever.
(SPIRITUAL MODERN AUTUMN - WINE WITH SWEET AND BITTER PROPERTIES)
10. {The vintage grapes of autumn have been harvested, and now _______________ & _______________ will use them to seal their covenant in a wine ceremony.}
The years of life are as a cup of wine poured out for you to drink. This "Cup of Life" contains within it a wine with certain properties that are sweet and symbolic of happiness, joy, hope, peace, love and delight. This same wine also holds some bitter properties that are symbolic of disappointment, sorrow, grief, despair, and life's trials and tribulations. Together the sweet and the bitter represent "Life's Journey" and all of the experiences that are a natural part of it. Those who drink deeply from the "Cup of Life" with an open heart and willing spirit, invite the full range of challenges and experiences into their being.
[Celebrant pours wine into goblet and holds it up]
This "Cup of Life" is symbolic of the pledges you have made to one another to share together the fullness of life. As you drink from this cup, you acknowledge to one another that your lives, until this moment separate, have become one. Drink now, and may the cup of your lives be sweet and full to running over.
[Celebrant hands goblet to Groom, who drinks, then hands it to Bride, who drinks, and then passes it back to Celebrant]
As you have shared this cup of wine, so may you share your lives. May all the sweetness that it holds for you be the sweeter because you taste it together. May you find life's joys heightened, it's bitterness sweetened, and all of life enriched by God's blessings upon you.
WINE RITUALS: FROM AROUND THE WEB
VIDEO - WINE RITUALS: FROM AROUND THE WEB