Plant a Tree at your Wedding

Many couples are on the lookout for creative and unique ideas that will elevate their wedding festivities from the everyday to the extraordinary. Rather than sticking with the traditional format of a wedding ceremony, some brides and grooms prefer to incorporate alternative traditions that can have a lot of meaning to the couple. A tree planting ceremony is one way that some pairs are choosing to honor and symbolize the joining together of their lives.

Significant Symbols

Weddings are often full of symbolism – the rings signifying everlasting love or throwing rice to represent the fruitfulness of marriage. Planting a tree together as part of your ceremony incorporates many special symbols that represent the relationship that you are building with your spouse. A sapling that is planted into rich soil will develop deep roots and grow strong and tall for many years to come. That symbolism can be related to your wedding vows as the two of you are planted into a rich marriage that will take root and continue on until the end of your lives. Many couples who are nature lovers like to use this simple tree planting ceremony to express both their love for each other and their respect for the natural world.

Conducting the Ceremony

Most couples that choose to hold a tree planting ceremony during their wedding don’t actually plant the tree in the ground. Often, they will have a table set up near the altar that will hold a potted sapling, some soil, and two trowels. The bride and groom symbolically plant the tree by shoveling the soil into the pot as their officiator reads vows or music that is important to the couple plays in the background. Personalizing your own ceremony is a wonderful way to make it special for you and your guests. Some couples have used soil from their childhood homes that they combine to plant their tree, while others invite members of each family to scoop some dirt into the pot as a representation of the joining of the two families. You can get creative and include special touches that have meaning between the two of you so that the ceremony becomes about your own relationship.

If you have purchased a home together, planting the tree you used at your wedding ceremony can be an important final gesture. As you begin your new life together, the new life of your tree begins as well. A tree planting ceremony can be a special addition to any wedding and a sweet reminder of the growth that is sure to come.