How to Do an LDS Ring Ceremony: Sample Ring Ceremony Program
Many Latter-day Saint couples who are getting married in the LDS temple plan on having a ring ceremony afterward to include friends and family members who can't attend the temple sealing. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of guidance when it comes to planning a ring ceremony! These official LDS ring ceremony guidelines, Mormon wedding etiquette questions, and ring ceremony wording ideas can help.LDS Ring Ceremony Guidelines In the 1980 pamphlet The Holy Temple, Boyd K. Packer says that hurt feelings for non-recommend holding family members should be "understood and planned for carefully as a part of the wedding," which can in part, be done with a ring ceremony. The LDS General Handbook of Instructions (1989) gives the following brief rules for an appropriate Mormon ring ceremony: "Couples may arrange with their bishops to hold a special meeting for relatives and friends who do not have recommends." "The exchange should not appear to replicate any part of the marriage ceremony. For instance, there should be no exchanging of vows on that occasion." "It is not appropriate to exchange rings... on the temple grounds."LDS wedding etiquette concerning ring ceremonies is relatively brief: they should be arranged under the guidance of their bishop, avoid becoming civil wedding ceremonies (that includes exchanging vows or walking down the aisle,) and be held off temple grounds.Sample Ring Ceremony Program As long as the ring ceremony timeline you plan falls under the guidelines listed in the handbook, everything goes when planning a ring ceremony. A basic Mormon ring ceremony might last 10-15 minutes and look something like this: opening remarks by the bishop or other officiator; special musical number (soloist, group, or instrumental); expression of feelings by the bride and groom; exchange of wedding rings and optional kiss; and closing prayer.Additional ring ceremony elements might include prelude and postlude music, a short slide show of photos of the bride and groom as children, the reading of a