Foot Washing Ceremony

I am not a religious person, and with that being said- this would not bother me at all. It obviously means a lot to you and has a special significance. I like seeing other people's cultures and traditions (even if they are different than mine)
I don't think you guys will be bring out the pumice stone and scrubbing eachother down.
I also don't understand why it would make people uncomfortable... There are many different cultures and beliefs in the world that are different and people shouldn't be made to feel bad about it.

I’m not familiar with the cultural importance of a foot washing ceremony and have never personally witnessed one. Unfamiliarity/something new can certainly be misconstrued for “uncomfortable” at times. However, as a guest, as long as the officiant explains the meaning behind it, I don’t see the issue.

I truly don’t understand why others are encouraging you not to move forward with this and honestly IMO, a lot of these responses are very close minded. To me, it’s not much different than other unity activities during a ceremony like sand ceremonies and so on that are so common today other than the fact that it happens to be feet. We’re all adults and all have feet, I can’t imagine this making someone THAT uncomfortable.

I’d rather witness a foot washing ceremony than the same sand ceremony I’ve seen 100+ times before. If you can figure out the logistics, go for it! There was a BAM not too long ago that included pictures of their ceremony that included a foot washing ceremony. It looked beautiful and intimate.

I've witnessed a foot-washing ceremony before and it was honestly beautiful. I already knew about it because growing up, our pastor taught about it in church. As PP stated, I don't see the difference between this and doing the unity sand or jumping the broom. If it's special to you, then do it. When I saw it done, it didn't take more than 5 minutes and the officiant was explaining the entire process and purpose during the washing.

I'm not Christian and I haven't heard of this before. I might find it a bit unusual, but I'd respect that you're doing something associated with your culture and not be upset by it. I agree with the suggestion to have the officiant explain it, especially if not all guests share your religion/culture.

I've seen it but afterwards many of the guest had something to say about it. I think that if you and hubby are ok with it, but if maybe you could put it on the program so guest aren't too surprised.

I'm not religious, but grew up in a Christian household so understand the symbolism. The idea isn't any more uncomfortable to me than any other unity ceremony, so I'm not sure why people are so polarized on it...it's not like you'd be using your hair like Mary. If your guests have seen it before as you say, then it shouldn't be an issue for them either. I agree that you should do a run through just to make sure all the logistics are worked out. Like I'd imagine you want a towel underneath the basin that you put your feet into to avoid splashing on the pulpit. And you want to make sure you have a second towel for drying. And a large enough pitcher of water that both of you can use it to pour from without refilling it. My thing is that even if it's short (5ish minutes), that's still 5 minutes that everyone is sitting in silence. So unless your pastor asks them to use it as a reverent moment of contemplation and prayer, I'd have him either explain it as you do it, or have some music playing so there's at least background noise. You could also have someone reading John 13 (I feel like Luke 7 is a little much & more about worshiping with humility anyway) while you are performing the ceremony.

I think doing it publicly is unbelievably spiritually arrogant. I screams "look at what good Christians we are". I'd suggest doing it privately, at the rehearsal, during the first look, or after the reception in your home or hotel room.

Feet make me super uncomfortable anyways, and what will everyone do while you’re up here washing feet? Is there soap involved?
I’m just confused on the whole logistics and things like that.
Also kinda rude to say that you don’t care if anyone is uncomfortable, I’d probably leave.

This is really interesting to read the responses. Although I'm not religious myself, neither do i object, and i find the rituals of various faiths more interesting than uncomfortable. If i were a guest, it wouldn't bother me. If it's important to you, my vote (not that i get one, lol) is to include it.

I LOVE the idea of a foot washing ceremony. For those who are unfamiliar, it's not actual washing with soap and water as if your foot is dirty. it's symbolic. My old church did foot washing along with lords supper.

I agree with Nikki. Find a scripture you would like the officiant to read and do a run through. This will also highlight any items you didn't think about having closeby. As long as people know whats going on, theyll be ok. Good luck!!

My grandfather and his bride did this during their ceremony. She washed his feet which I understood as part of her culture. I loved it! I was a witness to their love and caring for each other. However, other guest didn't understand what was going on. I would suggest that your officiant say something about it to educate your guest and then you could have music playing to absorb any akward silence.
Remember the wedding ceremony is about you and your partner, not the guests.

I've never seen it myself, but as a Catholic, only at Holy Thursday services, not at weddings. However, my FH and I have decided to do it alone after the ceremony. I think that it's a beautiful sign of service and love, so if you want to do it, go right for it! But I would echo the idea of having your officiant explain it beforehand. I don't think it would be so messy or take very long though. It seems more symbolic than actually taking very long to literally scrub your significant other's feet!

Chiming in because I care deeply about having a foot washing and also care about my guests comfort. So, I was determined to have the foot washing in the ceremony because the MOST important point of the wedding is to promise my future husband that I will serve him like Jesus (and vice versa). I have several guests that are not Christian, and I wholeheartedly love attending their weddings and tear up when they do their religious thing! You do you!! If you want a courthouse wedding that’s great and if you want an intensely religious wedding, you should have that. It’s about you, your husband, and your relationship and promise to God. And you have invited your guests to be witness to that. Don’t modify it for guests. That said, I’m providing umbrellas because while I want an outdoor wedding I also know they will get HOT in the sun. So, I care about their comfort.

Ultimately, I will not be doing the foot washing during the ceremony because my future husband does not want to untie and take off his shoes before all those people. We will be doing it privately after the ceremony in a wonderful spot - and I’m okay with that because I can’t force him to do something where I will promise to serve him lol. This way I can get what I want, make my future husband happy, and most of all we have the spiritual wedding day that we want. (The timing of it is tricky if you do it during the ceremony - I suggest having a worship leader or singer perform a meaningful song after your pastor explains what you’re doing. I was going to have Open Space by Housefires performed, but again, I’m doing it after *for my future husband and no one else*). Good luck figuring out what makes sense for y’all!!