The Mormon church has its wedding tradition and practices that make a marriage celebrated under its laws valid. There are two types of wedding ceremonies in the Mormon faith, the temple wedding, and the standard church service. You will have to choose the type of ceremony that suits your needs.
So, what is a Mormon wedding ceremony like? Like any other traditional wedding, a Mormon wedding ceremony is an event to celebrate the union of two people as they come together to form a family. A Mormon wedding ceremony is a small event, and very few people get to attend. A unique feature in a Mormon wedding ceremony is the double mirrors. The Mormons believe in relationships continuing in heaven, and in a temple wedding. The bride and groom will have their vows for an eternal marriage.
A Mormon wedding ceremony is an important event for most Mormon members. It shows their devotion to the church’s teachings, and it is also a romantic gesture to their partner. Read on to find out more about Mormon wedding ceremonies and if the Mormon church allows alcohol at the wedding ceremony.
What Is a Mormon Wedding Ceremony Like?
Before the wedding ceremony, the couple will arrange a meeting with the bishop at their local temple. The bishop will conduct a private interview and ask them several questions to test their faith and knowledge in the church’s teachings. If the bishop is satisfied with their answers, he will give them a temple recommend.
The couple will take that temple recommend to a religious leader called the Stake President. This leader oversees several bishops in a specific region. He will ask the same questions, and when he is satisfied with their answer, he will sign their temple recommend.
The temple recommend will allow the couple to hold their wedding ceremony inside any of the holy temples. The Stake President and the bishop will ask the couple questions that revolve around the church’s Code of Health, morality, and tithing.
Once the couple get their temple recommend, they can start planning they wedding ceremony. Wedding guests at a Mormon wedding will require a valid and current temple recommend from their local bishop to attend the wedding.
Temple recommends can only be given to Mormon; hence, the couple non-Mormon friends cannot participate in their temple wedding. They can come to the temple and wait at the temple’s waiting room until the couple exit the temple’s sealing room.
There is no walking down the aisle in a temple wedding ceremony. The couple will enter into the temple wedding sealing room together with each other and some of their close relatives and friends. The couple will kneel at the altar facing each other, in between two mirrors that project infinite images. The infinite images from the double mirrors symbolize the eternal marriage belief.
In a temple wedding, the temple President or the temple sealer will be the officiating clergy. He will read the vows to the groom, repeat the same vows, and add the groom and the bride’s name. The groom will respond with a “yes” after the temple sealer has finished reading the vows.
One unique part of the Mormon wedding vows is that there is the elimination of the promise to be faithful until death with a commitment to be faithful forever, even after death. The temple sealer will then pronounce the couple as husband and wife.
A temple wedding is a holy ceremony, and photography is not allowed. The couple cannot take pictures of their temple wedding. After the vows, the couple may leave the temple sealing room and join the other wedding guests who could not join them in the temple sealing room.
Many couples practice on their exit from the temple room and prepare something unique. It is the first time the couple close friends and relatives see them as a married couple; hence, the couple should work on a grand exit from the temple sealing room.
In a standard church service, the couples wedding guests do not require a temple recommend. The couple can invite some of their non-Mormon relatives and friends to the ceremony.
The couple also do not need a temple recommend, and they can ask any bishop close to them to officiate at their wedding. In both the temple wedding and standard church service, the couple will need at least two people to witness their marriage.
Is There Alcohol at a Mormon Wedding?
The Mormon church does not allow the bride and groom to serve or drinks at their wedding ceremony. For example, in some religious wedding ceremonies, a catholic wedding, wine is a common drink that the bride and groom drink after saying their vows. However, the Mormons do not allow wine or any other alcoholic drink at the wedding ceremony.
During the private interview with the bishop and later the stake president, there will be questions about the couples faith. One of the questions will be about alcohol; if either of the couple drink alcohol, their chances of getting a temple recommend go down. The church requires couples to prove that they usually abstain from alcohol and other drugs.
The Mormon church advocates for an alcoholic and drug-free lifestyle that its members have to adhere to at all times. The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are prohibited from taking harmful substances. Alcoholic drinks are among the drinks that the Mormons cannot drink. The prohibition is in the Code of Health of the church.
The Code of Health is also known as the Word of Wisdom. The Word of Wisdom is a section in the Doctrine and Covenants, a book that the Mormons believe has revelations from God. In the Word of Wisdom, the Lord commands the Mormons to abstain from harmful substances. Harmful substances, according to the Word of wisdom, include alcohol, tobacco, and hot drinks. Hot drinks have come to be interpreted as coffee and tea.
In addition to the lack of alcohol at the wedding ceremony, there will not be any coffee or tea. The Mormons are directed to eat fruits and vegetables. If the couple want to serve drinks at their wedding, they can serve drinks extracted from fruits. If they are not sure of the type of drink, they will serve their guests, asking their local bishop to direct them is highly recommended.
Toasts in a Mormon wedding ceremony and receptions are alcohol-free. It is a modern tradition for wedding guests to toast the newlyweds by drinking champagne. If guests want to toast the newlyweds, they will have to do it without an alcoholic drink. They also cannot bring their alcoholic drink to the wedding or reception.
They will have to wait until the wedding ceremony is over for them to get that drink. Smoking cigarettes is also prohibited; if they are not a Mormon, they will have to wait until they are outside the holy temple to smoke.
Lastly
A temple wedding ceremony is a sacred tradition, and only the most devout members of the Mormon church attend such a ceremony. The temple recommend is an important document, and without it, you cannot have a temple wedding. The vows in a temple wedding ceremony show that the bride and groom agree to be sealed to each other for eternity, and they will live together after death in heaven forever.
Alcoholic drinks are prevalent in modern wedding ceremonies, whether it is wine at the altar or champagne at the wedding reception. The Mormons live by a strict code of health where they are under strict command not to eat or drink harmful substances.
Alcoholic drinks are classified under harmful substances; hence, the most devout Mormons avoid drinking alcohol. If the Bishop or First presidency notes that you have been drinking alcohol, he may decline to give you a temple recommend.
