Atheists: Any wedding traditions you would keep in a civil ceremony?

Question

My husband and I were married last week in a secular ceremony, but since I was raised Greek Orthodox, I had a special attachment to the idea of using the stephana (wedding crowns) in our wedding. Have any other atheists here included traditions from their own upbringing in their ceremonies, or thought about traditions they wouldn't want to give up if they got married?

Answer 1

We had a lot of them, actually. They were more cultural than religious. I wore a white wedding gown and a tiara and veil, and had a bouquet... the big difference was that my attendants except for the maid of honor were men, because that's who my close friends were. And I walked down the aisle alone because I am not property to be given away; I'd been on my own so long that it was the only thing that made sense.

Everything else was pretty much what you see at any wedding. Except we had poetry read rather than Bible quotes, and it was performed by a justice of the peace rather than a pastor.

Answer 2

I'm not into "tradition." I prefer to do things that are meaningful to me, personally. Being married by a judge, with two witnesses (if still required) would be enough. I've never understood having a big wedding, wearing an expensive dress you'll never wear again, etc. That said, I think everyone should do whatever works for them.

Answer 3

I had my father (an ordained minister of missions that isn't the pastor of the church he goes to) do a ceremony for me in a non-denominational chapel. This was the best way to keep everyone happy, and even though I didn't put anything into the scriptures or prayers, I still am happy with how it turned out.

Answer 4

I'll keep the tradition of "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue." Other than that I really can't think of a tradition we'd need to keep in our wedding. I guess it depends on the kind of wedding traditions my fiance has in his family, since he's Danish. But whatever it is, we'll compromise and have a beautiful wedding ^_^

Answer 5

Traditions are traditions. You should have included whatever you wanted in your wedding, religion makes no difference.

Answer 6

I'm not married with 2 kids, getting married is a minor things to us both, we can't be bothered, its enough to say 'I love you' but if we did i would like to get married outside somewhere on a beach maybe sweet baked lobster too

Answer 7

i didn't have a religious upbringing. but i've always been pretty into the pagan religions and we did do a handfasting though.