The Sand Ceremony | St. Simons Island Wedding Planner

A sand ceremony for a wedding lasts about 3-4 minutes and describes meaningful joining of two lives. It involves two containers of sand, usually of different colors, one representing the life of the bride and the other representing the life of the groom. Both bride and groom hold their respective containers and together, pour the sand into a third container, which they later use as a keepsake. As they pour their respective sands into a single container, it symbolizes their becoming ‘one’.

 

Samples of Sand Ceremony Wording

While the couple pours sand into the third container, the minister or officiant can say the following vows:

Option 1: 

“Today, this relationship is symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand one, representing you BRIDE and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be, and the other representing you, GROOM, and all that you were and all that you are, and all that you will ever be. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers 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 containers, so will your marriage be.”

 

Option 2 

“BRIDE and GROOM, today you join your separate lives together. The two separate bottles of sand symbolize your separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends. They represent all that you are and all that you’ll ever be as an individual. They also represent your lives before today. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers 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 containers, so will your marriage be.”

 

Option 3 

“Today, BRIDE and GROOM, have chosen to commemorate their marriage through the celebration of the Sand Ceremony. This ceremony symbolizes the inseparable union of BRIDE and GROOM into a new and eternal marital relationship. Bride and Groom will simultaneously pour separate containers of sand into a common vessel. Each grain of sand in their separate containers represents a unique and separate moment, decision, feeling or event that helped shaped Bride and Groom into the separate and unique individuals that they are today. As they pour their separate containers of sand into a common vessel, those separate and independent individuals will cease to exist. Instead they will merge into a loving and supportive marital community. BRIDE and GROOM, just as the grains of sand can never be separated into their individual containers again, so will your marriage be.”

 

Option 4 

“Please note this empty glass. Glass, itself, is made from sand and the sands of time have come together, melting into one piece to make this vessel. The sands of time should remind us all of our eternal love and our mortality. Today BRIDE and GROOM have chosen to represent their love to each other in a special sand ceremony. Please BRIDE and GROOM, take your separate glass of sand and alternate the pouring of sand into this joining vessel and united, repeat after me: You are my love for eternity. I blend with you. My heart is like these grains of sands, merging with yours. I am yours. You are mine. We are together forever like the sand, like the wind. We are one.”

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4 thoughts on “The Sand Ceremony | St. Simons Island Wedding Planner

  1. I love this idea. I also like when if the two have children, then the children get to pour sand as well. after all it is a combining of the two and the children as well.

    • I did a sand ceremony last summer for a couple where the children took part by pouring their own sand color. It is a very sweet and meaningful ceremony.

  2. We saw a sand ceremony this past fall and it was beautiful. I had never seen it before. It was fall in upstate NY so they used Red and Yellow sand just like the colors of the leaves. 🙂

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