Little Details: The Unity Tree

Ok kids, we're 6 days away from the BIG DAY! What?? How did that happen?

I figured that in the days leading up to the wedding, I'd share some of our little details. I know I've been a bad wedding blogger lately, but I'm sure you'll understand that I've been ridiculously busy! Now that summer school has wrapped up (with a fishing trip thrown in, no less!), I've got a little more free time on my hands to share with you all :)

One of the little details that Josh and I are excited about is our Unity Tree. I'm not sure if that's the actual name for what we're doing, but it's good enough for me! Instead of lighting a unity candle or pouring sand, we will be planting a tree together during our ceremony.

This was once a dark shade of ugly green, but  Josh painted it this pretty silver color that matches our wedding much better.

These silver buckets will hold dirt from our families' homes to symbolize our roots (no pun intended) and former lives individually. Then we'll pour it into the bigger bucket over top of the tree to show our former lives coming together to cultivate something new (the marriage/tree) :)

Josh with his mom and dad working to transplant our tree from the yucky plastic tub it was planted in into our pretty silver spray-painted bucket.

It was a tight fit

 Since this isn't a widely practiced tradition, we decided we should include an explanation of the Unity Tree in our programs so everyone understood its significance. This is the wording I came up with:

As a way to commemorate their union, Ashley and Josh have chosen to plant a tree. Both Ashley and Josh have collected soil from places that hold meaning to them, and will use that soil to plant a Celebration Maple. The tree will be permanently planted at their home as a symbol of their marriage, reminding them that both the sun and rain God provides in their lives are needed to make their marriage grow stronger.

 I think it sums everything up in a cute, corny way. After all, if you can't get a little corny at your own wedding, when can you??