The ceremony

A wooden ring box engraved with your names or initials and the date, for the ceremony and the ring shots, then the dresser.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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The vow books, with your names and the year on the covers, kept together afterwards.

~$25 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A friend officiating otherwise reads the ceremony off a phone in every photo. A clean black book with room for the script and a pen for the license.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Many counties reject a marriage license signed in gold, blue or erasable ink, so a plain black archival gel pen belongs clipped to the license envelope. Keep one with the license and hand the spares to the officiant and witnesses. Check the ink instructions that came with your license, since requirements vary by county.

~$5 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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Someone has to light 80 votives in ten minutes before guests walk in, and the one lighter in a pocket is always empty. Charge both the night before and give one to whoever is on candle duty. Many venues ban open flame, so confirm before buying real candles.

Pairs with the unity candle.

~$10 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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In a sand ceremony each partner, and children in a blended family, pours a colour into one vessel that is sealed and kept; this kit ships with the sand and four pouring vases, so nothing has to be added. Choose a colour per person and practise the pour once so the layers stay distinct.

~$45 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A braided cord tied around your joined hands, from the Celtic tradition and now common in many ceremonies.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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In a wine box ceremony each partner writes a sealed letter, and during the ceremony the letters, a bottle and two glasses go into a box that is latched shut to be opened on an anniversary. This one fits three bottle widths, so the glasses go in beside the wine; some couples add letters from guests at the reception before it closes.

~$30 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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After the vows in a Latino Catholic wedding, the padrinos de lazo drape this large looped rosary over the couple's shoulders in a figure eight, joining them for the rest of the ceremony. Traditionally the padrinos buy and gift the lazo, so ask them before ordering; the gift box makes it easy to hand over at the rehearsal.

~$80 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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In Latino and Filipino Catholic weddings the priest blesses thirteen coins that are poured into the bride's hands or exchanged as a promise to share everything in the home: twelve for the months and one to share. The padrinos de arras traditionally bring them, so ask first; keep the box after the ceremony as the coins are kept for life.

~$40 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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In a Filipino Catholic ceremony, sponsors drape a veil over the couple and a cord in a figure of eight around their shoulders, a sign of being clothed and bound together. Traditionally the sponsors bring them, so ask first.

~$25 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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In a Chinese wedding tea ceremony the couple serves tea to parents, grandparents and elders in order of seniority, addressing each by their new family title; the elders drink, then give red envelopes or jewelry. This red porcelain set with the double happiness character has the pot and six cups; add a red lacquer tray, and count your elders so you know whether six cups is enough for one round.

~$65 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A glass in a pouch for the groom, or both of you, to break. Many couples keep the shards.

Stepped on at the end of the ceremony.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A basket at the entrance for guests who want one. Some couples have them printed with the date.

~$60 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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In a Jewish wedding, wine is blessed and sipped under the chuppah from a kiddush cup, which then becomes the couple's Shabbat cup for life. Some clergy use one cup and some two, so ask your rabbi; this is also often a gift from parents or grandparents, so ask before buying your own.

~$25 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A practical object rather than a ritual one: the kippot need somewhere to sit at the entrance, and a plain rattan tray does it without competing with the flowers. Pair it with a small please-take-one sign so guests who are not Jewish know they are welcome to wear one.

~$20 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A reserved front-row seat, marked with a linen banner and perhaps a single flower, is the quietest way to hold a place for someone who has died. Tell the coordinator so the seat stays empty through the ceremony.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A small metal locket with a photo, wrapped into the bouquet ribbon or pinned inside a jacket, so the person is carried down the aisle with you. Give the photo to the florist a week ahead if they are attaching it, and print it at the size of the frame opening rather than trimming a larger one on the day.

~$5 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A small sign on the photo table at the reception, with a few framed photographs beside it, says what it needs to without a printed poem. Set it where guests pass at their own pace rather than at the entrance.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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A memorial table is photographs. Six simple matching frames make it look considered rather than gathered from around the house.

Pairs with the memorial sign. The photos come from a print shop.

~$15 · Prices are approximate and can change. Check the shop for today's price.

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