In the Christian faith, a wedding is considered to be the beginning of a joint life together. It is to be entered cautiously – not as a spur of the moment decision, or as one that is entered into to conceal sin, such as the imminent birth of a child conceived out of wedlock. Additionally, Christianity demands that this union be entered into advisedly – the bride and groom to be are to seek the advice of godly men and women who will them the truth in love: are they really cut out to be married to one another, or at all? Most often the advisors will help the bride and groom to be to come to a unified decision with respect to such questions as to where to live, when to have children, jobs, career decisions, and various other issues that will affect them both. Other times, the adherence to the Christian faith of the pastor or trusted advisor may dictate that caution be used, and a couple may be advised to wait before tying the knot – just to make sure they are absolutely certain that this is the step they wish to take.

In the Christian faith, in spite of the practice by many who profess Christianity as their religion of choice, divorce is not an option. Marriages are entered into truly until death parts the marriage the marriage partners. Of course, such an important occasion is celebrated with all the pomp and circumstance the bride and groom can muster, and it is not surprising that several Christian wedding accessories have found favor with more and more Christian couples.

Take for example the unity candles. This lovely custom revolves around a set of three candles – a thick one in the middle, and two tapers, one on each side of the center piece. The two tapers are lit during the wedding ceremony. At some point during the actual marriage ceremony, the bride and groom will each take a taper in hand, and jointly light the candle in the middle, which is the unity candle. This lovely custom solidifies the notion that from now on they two will be known as one, and jointly together they will let their light shine for Christ. Since this is one of the most beloved Christian wedding accessories, it is not surprising that several versions of the theme exist. Some display the verse found in the letter to the Corinthians, which speaks of love and its various attributes. Other accessories include flutes for the champagne that include the inscriptions of Bible verses, and also religiously themed ring pillows.

Of course, the various accoutrements to the ceremony are not as important to the Christian faith as the actual vows. A movement has been underfoot to rewrite the vows and take some of the more controversial items, such as the word “obey”, out of them. Similarly, more and more Christians have taken to writing their own marriage vows, which is a beautiful custom indeed, in that it personalizes the ceremony so much more! As you can see, there is a lot of room in the Christian faith for the individual tastes and preferences of many different brides and grooms, and what almost supersedes even the most elaborately planned ceremony is the joy, good cheer, and happiness that may be found amongst the guests who get to attend this joining of two solitary individuals into the bonds of holy matrimony.