I was recently planning a ceremony for a lovely couple who right from the outset bought with them some wonderful ideas to the ceremony table. In their very first email to me, they explained how they wanted their best man to not only present their wedding rings but to have an active role in marrying them. They explained that their best man was someone incredibly close to both of them and in fact knew them both for as long as they had been a couple.
This was the first request of its kind for me, and so not only was I more than happy to help but I was really pleased to have the challenge of tailor-making such a personal and important part of the ceremony.
So, after a bit of brain storming I came up with the idea of giving their best man his own pledge to respond to before he presented the wedding rings to his close friends. This pledge is loosely based on a friends and family vow, which is a wonderful way of getting your guests to show their love and support of you by responding to a vow of their own. So this is what I wrote for him.
Me: Best man do you present these rings to Brad and Angelina as a true friend and loyal companion?
Best man: I do
Me: And as a close friend who has been witness to the love and happiness that Brad and Angelina have found together over the years, do you support them in their union and the pledges that they make to each other?
Best man: I do
And then I directed him to hand the rings to each of them in turn and to give them a kiss/hand shake if he wanted to. In fact, there were big hugs, kisses and six pairs of bleary eyes all round.
This vow pledge is a really great way of involving someone special in your ceremony whether it is a ring bearer, best man, a close friend or family member. It is a really nice way to honour someone important and you can bet that the honour is felt three-fold by the person who has been given such a role.
I was really pleased that a) they asked me to help them out with their idea (if you don’t ask, you don’t get!) b) they were really pleased with my suggestion and c) that it all worked out well in practice. It’s times like this that I love my job even more.
