How to honor deceased parents at wedding ceremony?

I saw some really great ideas on Pinterest. Here are a few we are considering.

We will have a sign about love ones in heaven and a lateran lit. Both my mother and his father have passed away. I am having a piece of my mom's clothes in the shape of a heart sewn into my dress right above my heart.

We had a line on our ceremony program honoring them and listed a few first names of those "who were watching down from above," And then at our reception we had a table that had some framed photos, memories and items to honor loved ones. Everyone complimented us on the table setup - super simple but well received.

We had subtle ways of including our lost loved ones on our wedding day, instead of doing a table of photos like many people now do. My MIL finds tables like this to be extremely upsetting, so we didn’t want to do that. I had charms on my bouquet for my grandparents and great aunt and uncle, as well as our beloved pup who passed last year. I also had a Navy pin of my grandfather on my bouquet, as he was unable to attend the wedding. H’s aunt also pinned hummingbirds on H and I the day of the wedding, for his late grandmother and I had handkerchiefs embroidered for H and his dad with hummingbirds added as well. We also had our officiant make quick mention of our loved ones who couldn’t be there, which made me super emotional.
I think it depends on how much you and your FH are comfortable with bringing attention to his mother on the day of the wedding. A photo table could be nice, a pocket watch or charm with her picture in it for your FH to keep with him, a seat saved at your reception in her honor with flowers and a photo on it.

I have a little card with a pretty candle and their pictures in frames. It will be on the fireplace mantle. I am also considering having the officiant do a moment of silence during the ceremony.

My husbands parents passed away before we met .. I had a base engraved with a dozen of his mother’s fav flowers and a picture of them on their wedding day out on one of the tables at our wedding

My mom passed away just before Thanksgiving and my FH's dad passed away about 10 years ago. We are going to have a picture of each of them on a table near the entrance with a sign that says "because ones we love are in Heaven, there's a bit of Heaven at our wedding". We each will carry in a white rose when we enter and lay it down by their pictures as we come in to start the ceremony.

Our officiant is doing a moment of silence to honor those that have passed. I will have a few charms on my bouquet with pictures of my grandparents and cousin who have passed. We may have a simple candle burning at the reception as well.

We thought about doing something like this to honor my dad. I like this one because we could also honor others who have passed, like grandparents etc. My sister also had a picture of my dad in a small frame attached to the bouquet she walked down the aisle with.

Also, I used to be a member of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, and some of my fellow congregants were killed during the shooting this past October. I thought about doing some sort of tree themed centerpieces to honor their memory.

We know you would be here today

We only have a few so we’re going to make a Collage and display it in a digital photo frame along with a lantern and led candle

We had this at our wedding

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm having a small locket attached to my bouquet with pictures of my grandparents. Then we are having a memorial table with larger pictures & candles & a sign. Our officiant is also mentioning them.

At the ceremony we will be doing a moment of silence for the ones not here as well as a candle burning for love ones

I'm hoping to do a table like the one above with something like "If Heaven weren't so far away" with pictures of our grandparents and FH's father. Finding pictures of everyone is my hardest part right now!

Got this basic idea

I'm changing the wording to something else to reflect their place being held

So I'm doing 2

Mom: white chair

Dad: brown chair

His dad was also musician and had Martin guitar so I'm putting the guitar in brown chair for Glen Sr.

And his mom collected silver and had a tea set she loved so this tea service set (metal not plastic) In the white seat

I'm thinking because December I do like the tree and maybe will use 1 candle between chairs if I use house

If I do two lanterns I’ll do candle in seat and guitar where tree is (and tea set but get a table for it) which I will probably do because lanterns look more elegant

Poems

Moms In Heaven

What do they do?When you're getting married,She is right here with you!So we've set up her chair,With a front row viewSo everyone else knows she's therewatching over and loving youDads In Heaventhey're right here too,On the day of your marriage,To love and support you.So he's here next to Mom,and will help you throughJust like he always has and willbecause that's just what Dads doI'm thinking we'll keep them and do the Christmas signs for a regular tribute

I’ll be using doll house furniture

Everyone has shared such incredible and heartfelt ideas in this discussion! 🥰

There are so many ways that you can add a personal touch and an extra nod in honor of their deceased parents. In addition to saving empty seats, including a note in your ceremony program, and featuring framed photos, you could also...

- Share a favorite memory

- Incorporate a special flower (like from their wedding bouquet)

- Play a song from their wedding (or that reminds you of them)

- Add their favorite dessert to your dessert choices

- Wear a special heirloom accessory or jewelry piece