Wedding Traditions Of A Mormon Wedding

The wedding traditions of the Mormon faith are often ridiculed and put down to the outside world, due mostly impart that their wedding traditions are so secretive about what actually goes on. However, the wedding traditions of the Mormon faith are very holy to them and, like other religious ceremonies, needs to be respected.

After all, what goes on at the temple aspect of the ceremony appears to be pretty similar to all of the other wedding ceremony’s around the world, as the most important part in all of this is that a couple is coming together to show their love for one another.

In the Mormon Church there are two types of weddings. One is called a Temple Marriage, where “Time and Eternity” is the basis. This wedding can only take place in a temple and only preapproved Mormons may attend the ceremony, while non-Mormons are not allowed to be in attendance. Since Mormons believe that after you die, you stay married, having the wedding in the temple will give you this “Time and Eternity” marriage.

For a couple to have a temple wedding, they must first go through an interview process to receive a temple recommendation. To get this recommendation, they need to be able to pass the interview with the bishop, swearing that they will go to church on a regular basis, are free from drugs, and other moral impurities, and are active in the Mormon Church community. It is really unknown what takes place in a wedding because most Mormons are not at liberty to discuss the ceremony since they are not allowed to disclose this.

The other type of wedding that a Mormon can be involved in is known as “For Time Only.” This wedding takes place in a chapel where anyone can attend. Since this wedding is not as sacred, or is not taking place in the temple, this form of marriage will only be considered a marriage only for their life here on Earth, and not in Heaven. In the event one or both do not pass the interview process for a temple wedding, they are unable to receive a recommendation pass to the temple, therefore the couple will have a civil ceremony, and thus they can try to get married in the temple later at a later time.

Prior to 1990, when the Mormon Church made some changes, wedding traditions in a temple wedding included biblical stories that they would act out such as the creation and the giving of the laws from God to his people. This part of the ceremony is said to have changed and is either no longer in existence or it may be done via video instead of acting it out. During the ceremony they learn secret handshakes and signs which harkens back to the founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith. Some of the penalties for telling the secrets of the Mormon Church were have your throat cut or being disemboweled, which of course is no longer in practice.

Some known facts of a Mormon wedding tradition includes the couple will meet and there will be the traditional embrace through a veil. Afterwards, they will go over their pledges and vows, and upon completion of their vows, the veil is then lifted while they couple embraces one another. The wedding vows are pretty similar to Jewish and Christian vows as they generally kneel before an altar and are told of their duties as a couple from the leader of the temple.

The last part of the ceremony takes place when a couple can stand in for one that has passed away to ensure that they are sealed together for all eternity. When the temple ceremony is complete, most couples will opt to have a ring ceremony just outside of the temple so that everyone can see them exchange rings and feel like they were a part of the ceremony and witnessed them uniting their lives together.

Lastly, in the Mormon Church there is a tradition called an endowment. For the female, an endowment normally takes place just prior to the wedding, while the males are usually endowed before they go on their mission at the age of 19. The endowment, which is very private, takes place in the Mormon Church and it is never witnessed by anyone who is not a member. What happens in an endowment ceremony is the washing and an anointment of the person’s body, as well as receiving a new name at this time. Then they will also receive some Mormon garments that they are to wear under their clothes.

Maui Wedding Photographer- Nicole Sanchez

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