The Wedding Braid

Since I have been a pastor I have had the privilege of doing a great number of weddings.  At my first wedding I wanted to make the experience something special so I came up with a way to do just that.  I wanted to show how vital it is to depend on God as an equal party in the marriage.  I have had several requests for detailed instructions on how “The Wedding Braid” works so I thought I would post it here:

The Wedding Braid – James Patterson

1. Take two ropes (one white and one black) about 18 inches in length (a gold rope will also be needed later and the ropes can be purchased at most fabric stores)

2. Explain that the white and black ropes represent the lives of the bride and groom

3. Ask the groom to hold one end of the two ropes together and task the bride to braid the two ropes together

4. Take the two ropes back from the bride and groom holding them together at each end

5. Explain that even if ends of the two ropes were tied together signifying the binding of their two lives together, life could still untwist their dependence on each other (while explaining this, untwist the two ropes; the pastor will end up holding the ropes at each end and they will not be twisted together

6. Then introduce a gold rope (also 18 inches long) representing the presence of God in their relationship

7. Hold all three ropes near one end; give the groom a small piece of gold tassel (about 14 inches long – also purchased at the same fabric store) and ask him to tie it around the ends of the three ropes (about two inches from the end)

8. Then have the groom hold the three ropes at the place he bound them together

9. Then ask the bride to braid the three ropes together

10. Then the pastor grabs the end of the ropes where the bride finished braiding and hands her another tassel like the one the groom was handed

11. Ask the bride to tie the tassel around the ends of the three ropes where she finished braiding (about two inches from the end)

12. Then the pastor takes back the braided rope and explains that this now represents the lives of the bride and the groom intertwined with Christ

13. The pastor then explains that the tassels (or bands) they tied around the ends of the ropes also represent the same commitment that the bands they have now placed on their fingers; as long as they stay true to those commitments, binding their lives together with Christ, there is nothing that the world can throw at them to untwist their dependence on each other (as he says this he twists the ropes back and forth showing that they cannot come unbraided)

14. Lastly the pastor then reads: Ecclesiastes 4:12, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”