What is a Commitment Ceremony?

If you have never heard of a commitment ceremony, you may not be sure what one is. While some of the definitions may be a bit different, this ceremony is a contract that can have several different facets. Here is a closer look.
First, you'll find that the union of a couple, whether they are heterosexual or same sex, is something that is social, religions, familial, and personal. The legal facet is the legal one, which is what makes a commitment of same sex couples from a wedding ceremony for heterosexual couples. Even though legal rights are not fully offered yet, everyone can still have a union and ceremony that is very beautiful and special.
In most cases, these commitments are not recognized by the state legally. Most provinces and states are currently not recognizing unions that are between same sex couples. However, there are still legal benefits that you can deal with on your own. You can use wills, medical power of atto
ey and financial power of atto
ey to deal with legal aspects of your commitment to each other.
Why even have a commitment ceremony then if it isn't recognized legally? Well, remember that marriage is far more than something that offers legal rights. This is a social, familial, personal, and religious commitment. Even though your union may not be recognized legally, you still can enjoy the ceremony and find all other facets of your ceremony binding.
This ceremony should be one done in public. After all, the ceremony is all about having your vows witnessed by others. Those who attend this ceremony are a big part of it, since everyone who attends is a witness of the vows that you make to each other at the commitment ceremony.
Wondering who you should invite to this ceremony? Usually you'll want to have those who are most important to you at the ceremony. Remember that your vows are a contract that is very personal and you want to have other witness them so it is a public contract. You may want to use an officiant as well. This is someone that is experienced at dealing with ceremonies and they can help with the planning too. Often the will be willing to have variations to the ceremony so you can have one that works for you.
Not only can a good officiator help you with the actual ceremony, but often he can be helpful with the planning stage too. He may be able to help write out the ceremony and will be invaluable for keeping everything going smoothly on the big day. Having someone with experience can be important, since he'll know how to make this a special and meaningful time for everyone.
Many couples wonder if they should write their own vows for a commitment ceremony. This is perfectly fine. You can choose traditional vows or you can go with variations that you write yourself. You can also decide whether you want to exchange rings. Going with the ring ceremony is a great idea, since the rings symbolize the vows that the two of you exchange at the commitment ceremony.