When Sam and Aaron decided to get married, they knew one thing for sure – they didn’t want a traditional wedding, they wanted a non-wedding wedding!
They weren’t sure where to start so they used the Be Ceremonial app to guide them through creating their own wedding ceremony, and they hired Megan to convene the wedding on a boat in a secluded inlet outside of North Vancouver, BC.
A non-wedding is defined as “A marriage ceremony and celebration that doesn’t follow traditional wedding rules, focusing rather on who the couple really are.”
Sam & Aaron’s Non-Traditional Wedding
I had the privilege of getting to know Megan before we had decided to get married, and I was drawn to the loving energy she exudes. When we started considering marriage, I knew her kind, flexible, down to earth vibes were exactly the kind of presence we would want for our special day.
We were turned off of marriage for a long time because the traditions did not feel in alignment with our values. People’s expectations of how a wedding should be was a hurdle for us because we knew that wasn’t what we wanted.
I knew Megan would help us to think outside the box in order to make it our own, letting go of any traditions that didn’t resonate with us, and instead adding beautiful rituals that just felt right.
Neither my partner nor I had a lot of capacity to plan a wedding because we were busy with work and preparing to emigrate to the States. We hired Megan to be our celebrant because I knew I could trust her to keep things simple.
I appreciated that she was up for an adventure, as we got married on a boat in a remote area that is special to us. It was helpful how flexible and grounded she was throughout the process.
What do you do at a non-wedding?
We had a low key, flexible ceremony on a boat with rituals occurring throughout our journey up a coastal inlet. We stopped at a waterfall as the backdrop to when we actually got married and Megan shared some thoughts that we had prepared for each other ahead of time, because neither of us wanted to have to say our vows in the moment.
We were able to just relax as she carried us through the “wedding”. She shared messages from our loved ones that couldn’t be there that she had collected ahead of time, which was really special.
The people who were there participated in various meaningful ways throughout the day, including these three rituals:
Rock Release Ritual: We were each invited to choose a rock to throw in the water, letting go of anything we needed to in order to be present as we left the city behind and created a sacred space on the boat to get married.
Ring Warming Ritual: During the ceremony, Megan led us through a ring warming ritual with a beautiful shell she brought to tie the rings into. We passed the rings around the boat, inviting our guests to imbue them with love and wishes for our future together.
Flying Wish Paper: At the end of the night, Aaron and I wrote some of our wishes for our marriage down and lit them, sending them off into the night sky as they turned to ash and floated upward.
The Intention of Our Wedding
The specific rituals didn’t end up being as important to me as the general vibe of the day, especially since we had to pivot hard due to unforeseen circumstances. In the end, I was ok with abandoning some of the rituals we had originally planned because I felt very fulfilled by the experience as a whole.
I felt very supported in knowing that Megan would be fine with whatever we wanted and go with the flow no matter what happened or didn’t happen.
The ceremony brought us a low-stress and personally meaningful way to celebrate our love without any of the typical wedding traditions that didn’t feel in alignment for us. It allowed us to get married in a way that felt very right and very us.
Everyone really appreciated the “come as you are” atmosphere and thought the whole day was very “us”. What could be more perfect than that?
To create your own unique Wedding Ceremony, check out our app and explore modern, unconventional rituals to make the day your own.
A special thank you to Travis B Photos for sharing the first, second and last photos with us, and capturing the day so beautifully.
