Like many wedding traditions, it is hard to pin a history to where the sand ceremony began. It has been attributed to indigenous customs in Hawaii. In Hawaiian ceremonies, sand from two smaller vials is poured into one larger bowl or seashell to symbolize the joining of two lives into one. If the wedding is held on the beach (which is traditional), the sand for the individual vials is taken from beneath the feet of the bride and groom.

Today, the sand ceremony is still a beautiful and unique unification ceremony. Though some couples may prefer to use water, wine, or other elements- the idea of taking two containers and combining them as one, never able to be seperated, is a powerful metaphor for the lasting legacy of the marriage.

Handfasting or Swordfasting Ever wondered where the term “Tie the Knot” came from? Read on…   There are many different versions of the story of Handfasting but the most common is; it was a "temporary" marriage that lasted for a year and a day. Many small villages did not a have local minister or priest to perform a marriage ceremony, so couples would perform a hand fasting which legally bound them until someone of the clergy could perform a ceremony. Handfasting was traditional before weddings became a legal function of the government or taken over by the formal religions in the early 1500's. Handfasting remained legal in Scotland until 1939, even after Lord Harwicke’s Act of 1753 declaring that marriages in England were legal only if performed by a clergyman. After Lord Harwicke’s Act, the Scottish border town, Gretna Green became a Mecca for eloping couples from England who fled there to perform their own Handfasting. The very word Handfasting derived its origin from the wedding custom of tying or hitching the bride and groom's hands or actually their wrists together, as a symbol to their clan, tribe or village of their decision to be bound together in family living. The traditional length of time was a year and a day, or 13 moon cycles. If the marriage proved to last over this period of time, then the vows would be renewed for a life time or they renewed them for "as long as love shall last". On the last day of “the year and a day promise” they would then make a promise for infinity repeating their promise to each again. A cord is tied in a knot around their hand while the ritual takes place. This is where the term “tie the knot" came from when referring to getting engaged or married today.