Looking to write a unique Unity Ceremony for your special day? Consider a Rose Ceremony. There are so many to choose from and maybe none with the exact meaning you’re looking for. Sand and candles are a classic, and still beautiful, but you might be looking for a unique celebration of unity that pull together the two of you and completely symbolizes your relationship. Moreover, you want your unity ceremony to contain symbolism and reflect the vows you two have made on a yearly basis, as a yearly reminder. We wrote ourselves a Rose Ceremony. We each represent specific qualities in our relationship and equal part of the whole. See what we did, and why I get a rose every year!

Billy and I had the best 1 year anniversary ever. I was 9 months pregnant, so everything made me cry… especially anything romantic, which is just what my husband is…

We did freeze the top tier of our wedding cake, I should probably follow up here with how I did it (HERE is that post! We’re still eating our Wedding Cake 6 years later!) planning to eat it on our one year anniversary. We actually ate it for breakfast. (…remember I was 9 months pregnant) When I woke up that morning and rolled out of bed I came out to the kitchen and found this, plus a bouquet of roses. To which I exclaimed, “You remembered my rose!” I had set out my ceremony vase the night before (like a kid with Santa cookies) just hoping he’d remember. I don’t know when he bought these gorgeous roses, but they were there when I woke up on our anniversary, which of course made me cry…   If I have lost you on the importance of this whole rose thing…

Rose Ceremony | What it symbolizes

Part of our wedding ceremony included a “rose ceremony” in which my husband was supposed to give me a long-stemmed rose which I then put into a vase filled with water because he is my rose and I am his vase. For the ceremony, it was explained that my husband is full of life and color as the rose but he cannot sustain without water I, on the other hand, am apparently steady and calm but sometimes lack flare. Together we form the perfect combination so every year on our anniversary I fill the vase with water and he gives me a rose.

Our amazing florist was Patton’s Country Garden. Credit: Roman Studios

To pull it all off I bought a vase that I loved and sort of “resembled me”… I know weird. Our wedding color was hunter green so I added the ribbon to it. We made our ceremony arrangement of florals all roses, in fact, all yellow roses {my mom’s favorite}and one special white rose. I chose roses and specifically yellow roses as a message to my mother. She raised me and gave me my flare for all my years leading up to this special day. I wanted her to see and know that I was in good hands. Someone else could handle being my rose now. But still, the yellow roses will always outweigh the white. There is so much symbolism on a wedding day and for a mother, it is very difficult to watch her daughter leave the nest completely and build her own.

This was my way of saying “You taught me how to build the most beautiful nest and it will always be full of the gifts you gave me… and roses.”

When the time came to do the ceremony I could grab the vase and Billy could pull out the single white rose. We actually each then took a yellow rose to the other’s mother as a thank you for bringing each other into the world and our lives. Lot’s of Mom in the ceremony!See even more MOM involvement and how she held my hand all day as part of my bouquet HERE. 

Billy and I wrote this together.

Our Rose Ceremony:

Officiant: Kandice and Billy will now participate in the  Ceremony of the Rose. Billy holds a long-stemmed rose that he will present to Kandice and Kandice holds a vase filled with water. The water in the vase symbolizes the protection and nourishment their marriage will provide to each other.    

Billy (handing over rose): Take this rose, a symbol of my love. It began as a tiny bud and blossomed just as my love has grown and blossomed for you.   Kandice (while putting rose in water): I take this rose as a symbol of your love, and I place it into water, a symbol of life. For, just as this rose cannot survive without water, I cannot survive without you.  

Billy: In remembrance of this day, I will give you a white rose each year on our anniversary, as a reaffirmation of my love and vows spoken here today.  

Kandice:
And I will refill this vase with water each year, ready to receive your gift, in a reaffirmation of the new life you have given me and the vow spoken here today.   I got my rose!  

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