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Do-it-Yourself Wedding Ceremony: Choosing the Perfect Words and Officiating Your Unforgettable Day
Choose the Perfect Words For Your Unforgettable Wedding Day.
“Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony,” brings the focus back to the real purpose of a wedding … the sacred agreement between two people that defines their marriage.
In step-by-step, informative chapters, Dayna Reid describes the elements of a wedding ceremony from beginning to end, and the choices people can make with each element. “Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony” includes a wealth of wording and ceremony selections, to celebrate diverse styles, beliefs and traditions, from Christian to Zen, to the simple declarations of love that transcend tradition.
Reid, an ordained Officiant with more than a decade of experience discovered “the few ceremony books available were written in either a particular style or from a specific religious view, offering limited variety for customizing a wedding to reflect a couple’s unique and personal perspective and intentions.”
Some key information within the book:
• A large collection of spiritual and non-spiritual wording examples
• Several sample wedding and renewal ceremonies
• A worksheet to help easily compose the ceremony
• Instructions for obtaining a marriage license
• Who can legally perform the ceremony and steps to becoming ordained
• Advice on selecting the right Officiant
• Information on filing the paperwork to make the wedding legal
“Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony,” brings the focus back to the real purpose of a wedding … the sacred agreement between two people that defines their marriage.
In step-by-step, informative chapters, Dayna Reid describes the elements of a wedding ceremony from beginning to end, and the choices people can make with each element. “Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony” includes a wealth of wording and ceremony selections, to celebrate diverse styles, beliefs and traditions, from Christian to Zen, to the simple declarations of love that transcend tradition.
Reid, an ordained Officiant with more than a decade of experience discovered “the few ceremony books available were written in either a particular style or from a specific religious view, offering limited variety for customizing a wedding to reflect a couple’s unique and personal perspective and intentions.”
Some key information within the book:
• A large collection of spiritual and non-spiritual wording examples
• Several sample wedding and renewal ceremonies
• A worksheet to help easily compose the ceremony
• Instructions for obtaining a marriage license
• Who can legally perform the ceremony and steps to becoming ordained
• Advice on selecting the right Officiant
• Information on filing the paperwork to make the wedding legal
- GenresNonfiction
252 pages, Paperback
First published May 23, 2014
34 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Dayna Reid
18 books17 followersLibrarian Note: Also writes as Dayna Mason
Dayna (Reid) Mason is an award-winning Author, Columnist, Podcaster and Minister. She has authored several bestselling books on the topics of weddings, funerals, love, and personal growth.
Dayna (Reid) Mason is an award-winning Author, Columnist, Podcaster and Minister. She has authored several bestselling books on the topics of weddings, funerals, love, and personal growth.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 12, 2015
Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony by Dayna Reid is an excellent resource for wedding planning. This book features so many different examples and ideas relating to vows, ceremonies, and other wedding traditions. The great thing about this book is that it is not merely a collection of vows, but a structured guidebook. A bride could use this book to plan everything that is said during the ceremony, from the officiant’s words to the bride and groom’s vows, as well as other blessings or pronouncements. Many of the vows are traditional, but Reid also includes nontraditional ones, such as lovely quotes from movies and songs.
I really enjoyed reading about different kinds of wedding ceremonies (such as sand, butterfly release, breaking glass, and fisherman’s knot); this book introduced me to many wonderful ceremony ideas I had never heard of. Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony definitely has something for everyone, including vows that incorporate children and parents, as well as vows for blended families. The book also includes information about selecting an officiant and getting a marriage certificate, which is helpful for those unfamiliar with the process. I like how the end of the book has a worksheet to plan your ceremony, where brides can write what they choose for different parts of the ceremony (such as the exhanging of rings, pronouncement of marriage, etc.); the worksheet is a very handy organizational tool. I also thought it was nice how Reid included a list of songs for the ceremony. Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony is packed with so many different detailed ideas, and would be a great tool for a bride-to-be, wedding planner, or anyone planning the wedding of their dreams.
I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed reading about different kinds of wedding ceremonies (such as sand, butterfly release, breaking glass, and fisherman’s knot); this book introduced me to many wonderful ceremony ideas I had never heard of. Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony definitely has something for everyone, including vows that incorporate children and parents, as well as vows for blended families. The book also includes information about selecting an officiant and getting a marriage certificate, which is helpful for those unfamiliar with the process. I like how the end of the book has a worksheet to plan your ceremony, where brides can write what they choose for different parts of the ceremony (such as the exhanging of rings, pronouncement of marriage, etc.); the worksheet is a very handy organizational tool. I also thought it was nice how Reid included a list of songs for the ceremony. Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony is packed with so many different detailed ideas, and would be a great tool for a bride-to-be, wedding planner, or anyone planning the wedding of their dreams.
I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
January 5, 2015
Very nice book. It's a compilation of so many possibilities for weddings. I really enjoyed the layout. The author made it so easy to choose and pick from many different types of religious and non-religious ceremonies. As I progressed through the book and read the passages, I decided that I would take some wording from a few different sections and piece them together to resemble us as a couple. I will even add a little of my own wording. Overall, this was a great book that talks from start to finish wedding, with so many options to personalize it just for you. I loved some of the great wedding ideas regarding the party favors, and the wedding quilt. How neat!
June 29, 2014
This book is a must have for anyone planning a wedding or helping to plan a wedding! It would make a great gift to an engaged couple as well. When I was planning my wedding we were on a super tight budget and going DIY all the way. This book is the perfect resource for couples doing the same. I think anyone who is on a budget, wanting a DIY wedding or even just some extra personal added touches, would benefit from picking up this book!
July 14, 2014
Amazing book. Very Very helpful for someone who is planning a wedding, the bride, the mom, the wedding planner,or even the minister. Great book with amazing tips and ideas. Definitely recommend it.
October 8, 2018
Clarion Foreward Review: This is a comprehensive resource for anyone planning a wedding who doesn’t want to leave the details of this joyous event up to their officiant.
The DIY movement hits the traditional wedding ceremony and changes things up in many artful and satisfying new ways in the revised edition of Dayna Reid’s Do-it-Yourself Wedding Ceremony: Choosing the Perfect Words and Officiating Your Unforgettable Day. The author is a minister and has officiated at weddings for fourteen years; this experience with many different cultural and religious traditions gives authority to her suggestions for different readings, music selections, and other components so couples can tailor a celebration that most meaningfully expresses their interests and beliefs.
Reid outlines potential elements that might be included in a marriage ceremony, from the procession to the recession, and delves into deeper examination of each so that couples can create a truly personalized event. It is empowering to have all the tools and templates needed to craft a celebration of the marriage union whether it is a spiritual or nonspiritual ceremony, a first wedding, a renewal of vows, or a ceremony uniting a blended family.
The book describes wedding elements from many cultures, such as the Hawaiian exchange of leis, the African American tradition of jumping the broom, and examples from Jewish, Christian, Zen Buddhist, and Celtic wedding ceremonies. Couples can read about ways to involve children in the event, honor their parents, and recognize loved ones who are deceased or unable to attend their wedding. There is a chapter full of sample ceremonies and Reid even discusses how to become ordained or become a marriage officiant, in case a pair wants to have someone special in their lives perform a custom ceremony.
Some of the examples of readings, prayers, and quotes will be familiar to wedding veterans, such as quotes from the Bible and Kahlil Gibran, but others are derived from a bouquet of surprising and unusual sources, such as Robert A. Heinlein, Armenian blessings, the Star Wars movies, classic children’s books, and popular song lyrics. It would be fun to attend a wedding where the bride or groom recites a scene from the film Sideways, quotes a Beatles lyric, or murmurs the paean to love by an Ent and his Entwife from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers.
It’s easy to imagine how this book might look after a wedding couple got through with it: spine bent, replete with pages that are dogeared, stained, underlined, and packed with a rainbow of curly edged sticky notes. This is a comprehensive resource for anyone who is planning a wedding and doesn’t want to leave the details of this joyous event up to their officiant. Others will welcome a book that outlines how to create a wedding ceremony that honors a couple coming from different cultures or beliefs. Whatever their background, Reid’s book is a great reference for couples who want to devote as much attention to the significance of their vows as the selection of their wedding feast entrée or flower arrangements.
The DIY movement hits the traditional wedding ceremony and changes things up in many artful and satisfying new ways in the revised edition of Dayna Reid’s Do-it-Yourself Wedding Ceremony: Choosing the Perfect Words and Officiating Your Unforgettable Day. The author is a minister and has officiated at weddings for fourteen years; this experience with many different cultural and religious traditions gives authority to her suggestions for different readings, music selections, and other components so couples can tailor a celebration that most meaningfully expresses their interests and beliefs.
Reid outlines potential elements that might be included in a marriage ceremony, from the procession to the recession, and delves into deeper examination of each so that couples can create a truly personalized event. It is empowering to have all the tools and templates needed to craft a celebration of the marriage union whether it is a spiritual or nonspiritual ceremony, a first wedding, a renewal of vows, or a ceremony uniting a blended family.
The book describes wedding elements from many cultures, such as the Hawaiian exchange of leis, the African American tradition of jumping the broom, and examples from Jewish, Christian, Zen Buddhist, and Celtic wedding ceremonies. Couples can read about ways to involve children in the event, honor their parents, and recognize loved ones who are deceased or unable to attend their wedding. There is a chapter full of sample ceremonies and Reid even discusses how to become ordained or become a marriage officiant, in case a pair wants to have someone special in their lives perform a custom ceremony.
Some of the examples of readings, prayers, and quotes will be familiar to wedding veterans, such as quotes from the Bible and Kahlil Gibran, but others are derived from a bouquet of surprising and unusual sources, such as Robert A. Heinlein, Armenian blessings, the Star Wars movies, classic children’s books, and popular song lyrics. It would be fun to attend a wedding where the bride or groom recites a scene from the film Sideways, quotes a Beatles lyric, or murmurs the paean to love by an Ent and his Entwife from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers.
It’s easy to imagine how this book might look after a wedding couple got through with it: spine bent, replete with pages that are dogeared, stained, underlined, and packed with a rainbow of curly edged sticky notes. This is a comprehensive resource for anyone who is planning a wedding and doesn’t want to leave the details of this joyous event up to their officiant. Others will welcome a book that outlines how to create a wedding ceremony that honors a couple coming from different cultures or beliefs. Whatever their background, Reid’s book is a great reference for couples who want to devote as much attention to the significance of their vows as the selection of their wedding feast entrée or flower arrangements.
October 8, 2021
Excellent book to get one started on making their own wedding ceremony. Lots of good ideas. Well worth archiving.
October 11, 2025
This was kind of basic…there are definitely better resources out there.
June 10, 2014
Why didn't I have this amazing book years ago? As a pastor that has officiated over seventy weddings, I have always done my best to avoid "cookie cutter" ceremonies. I have attended far too many weddings performed by bored ministers with an "Insert bride/groom's name here" attitude. Do it Yourself Wedding Ceremony is a standout book in my library that will be given to every couple I marry from now on. The ability for the engaged couple to truly craft their ceremony and make it their own is a real gift; a wedding that displays their own personal and intimate hearts, intentions, and love for each other. Ms. Reid has compiled such an abundant and diverse collection of ideas here; I am looking forward to my next wedding, knowing it will be an original ceremony truly representing the bride and groom.
September 2, 2020
Very helpful and informative book. Contains many non-traditional ideas which were very helpful for us.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews