Wine Ceremonies

Love Letters & Wine Ceremony

Items needed:
A wooden/other wine box lined with padding
a bottle of your favorite wine (one that will age well)
two love letters sealed in separate envelopes
hammer and nails or screwdriver and screws
optional pictures and mementos, wine glasses

Before us we have a wine box that will serve as a time capsule. We also have a bottle of wine, and you have each brought a love letter you have written to your soon-to-be spouse.

“Wine has been a part of civilized life for some seven thousand years,” said famed winemaker Robert Mondavi. “It is the only beverage that feeds the body, soul and spirit of man, and at the same time stimulates the mind.”

Two thousand years before that, Pliny the Elder said, “In wine there is truth.”

There are many things that have been said and written about wine, from Plato to Shakespeare to Ben Franklin, and it seems every poet, writer, and critic in existence has had something to say about it. Some say a good wine gets better with age, but some wines are just as good when they are new and enjoyed young. This is just the nature of wine, which is a process of change. You start with fresh grapes, smash them together and let the yeasts ferment the sugars into alcohol. What you end up with has a different flavor in a few months than it does in a few years or even a few decades.

We could say that NAME and NAME started out as fresh grapes that mingled, smashed their lives together into sweet grape juice, then let the fermentation process begin to change them into something new, something even better, more mature, like wine.

Also like wine, your marriage has to be treated with respect, cared for, and nurtured if it is to last. Please add the wine to the box.

The letters you hold will be a glimpse back into your thoughts and feelings before your wedding day. Perhaps they tell of the qualities you appreciate in each other, your hopes and dreams and your reasons for choosing to marry. Maybe you have written about how you met, the reasons you fell in love, or the moment you knew you wanted to share your whole life with this person. No one else has read what you have written, they are secret letters to your future selves. Please add your letters to the box.

This time capsule is meant to be opened on your 1st (or 3rd) wedding anniversary. However, if that is too long to wait in anticipation, or if you find yourselves in tough times, and are in need of real inspiration, please open it sooner!

When you do open the box, sit down together, share the wine and read your letters. Reflect on what brought you together. Remind yourselves of what you love about each other, and why you decided to marry. Use these memories to start a new conversation, dream new dreams, and continue to work on making your marriage one filled with honesty, understanding, and a growing love.

Then, you should write new letters. Think about how the flavor of your relationship has deepened and changed. Re-seal the time capsule with a new bottle of wine and new love letters as well as the old. It will be an ever-changing, ever-growing history of you.

You may now seal the box.
(This can be done with a box that latches, hammer and nail, or screwdriver – with pre-drilled holes!)

Wine Drinking Ceremony

“Wine has been a part of civilized life for some seven thousand years,” said famed winemaker Robert Mondavi. “It is the only beverage that feeds the body, soul and spirit of man, and at the same time stimulates the mind.”

Two thousand years before that, Pliny the Elder said, “In wine there is truth.”

There are many things that have been said and written about wine, from Plato to Shakespeare to Ben Franklin, and it seems every poet, writer, and critic in existence has had something to say about it. Some say a good wine gets better with age, but some wines are just as good when they are new and enjoyed young. This is just the nature of wine, which is a process of change. You start with fresh grapes, smash them together and let the yeasts ferment the sugars into alcohol. What you end up with has a different flavor in a few months than it does in a few years or even a few decades.

The wine you share today is sweet and young, symbolizing youth and the newness of your marriage.
(Pour wine for each other, clink glasses and drink.)

We could say that NAME and NAME started out as fresh grapes that mingled, smashed their lives together into sweet grape juice, then let the fermentation process begin to change them into something new, something even better, more mature, like wine. Here’s to your marriage developing balance, complexity, and a rich bouquet.

Cheers!
(Clink glasses and Drink again!)