Create A Family Commitment
To create your blended family commitment and as the ultimate act of blending your family, You and your love are exchanging vows and rings with one another to publicly commit your lives to one another.
Don’t stop there.
Find a way to involve the children in this symbolic commitment. There are many options, from family unity candles, to family medallions and necklaces, to pins you can give to the children as part of the ceremony. The item given doesn’t matter as much as the act and ceremony of the gift. This is an ideal way to symbolically solidify the union of “family” in your children’s minds.
Another idea is to make family t-shirts at a local embroidery or screen printing shop. These can be highly customized with text, photos, art… just about anything you can think of. Let them change for the “reception” to show off their new family.
This can be given as a pre-wedding gift or a post-wedding gift. It can also be incorporated in the wedding itself. For our wedding, after the official ceremony was completed, we were announced as “Mr. and Mrs. and Family”. After this, Dad and I proceeded with a ceremony of our own.
We presented the children with a family pin...
We explained that it represented this “new” branch of their family. That like the hundred year old tree, there could be many branches and one did not take away from the other, rather it made the tree stronger. And like the strength of the tree, so was the strength of their love. As long as they have love in their hearts, they would never be without family and that we loved them very much.
Here you can find
Family Pins
and other blended family wedding gifts.
The children were not aware of this part of the ceremony ahead of time. They were surprised and felt the seriousness of the matter. And though the six year old boys will likely lose the pins amid the piles of toys and more important paraphernalia, each of the children will remember that moment, when we all committed to being a family.
Make your special moment before, during or after the ceremony but find a way to make it. Creating an opportunity for a family commitment can put your blended family well on the way to success. It does not have to be grand or public and don’t be afraid to get a little cheesy.
Make this ceremony as special for your children as it is for you and your new spouse.
Return from Family Commitment to Blended Family Weddings
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