10 Top Wedding and Marriage Symbols
Are you looking for the most popular wedding and marriage symbols?
Ready to walk down the aisle and take that sacred vow? You may want to check out some of the most common wedding and marriage symbols we have prepared for you.
Marriage predates recorded history. However, the earliest record of ceremonies uniting one man and one woman dates back to circa 2350 BC in the Far East, specifically in Mesopotamia. Although not always religious, marriage is always a legal bond between two people.
Many symbols represent this concept. Whether you’re planning on getting hitched or are already tied forever to your one true love, here’s a list of the top wedding and marriage symbols across cultures.
10 Top Wedding and Marriage Symbols
1. Infinity Symbol
The infinity symbol is a figure 8 lying on its side. As the name suggests, it symbolizes the concept of infinity, limitlessness or eternity. It is especially used metaphorically with respect to love, denoting forever between two people in a relationship.
As it represents everlasting love, the infinity is the best symbol we can use for marriage.
In Chinese culture, the number 8 is an auspicious sign; therefore, the infinity symbol is interpreted as a sign of good luck and fortune, which are both essential in marriage as in everything else.
2. Circle
The circle, as represented by wedding rings in marriage, has often served as a symbol of eternity.
The ring, which is circle in shape, is an ideal representation of the perfection and endurance of a married couple’s love for and commitment to one another.
Circle is a universal symbol with extensive meaning and represents other various concepts such as the Self, perfection or original perfection, wholeness and totality, timelessness, all cyclic movement, and God.
Circle is also an essential part of the Celtic wedding tradition. During a wedding ceremony, the bride and groom stand together with the guests forming a circle around them.
3. Doves
The dove is a universal symbol of peace – and peace is one thing that’s essential in the couple’s home and throughout their lives together, which makes the dove a very fitting symbol for marriage.
Doves are also symbolic of monogamy and loyalty in relationships as these birds tend to stay with the same partner during mating season. They are also devoted, loving birds, especially the male doves who help their female partners in incubating and caring for their young.
During wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom also often use doves as motifs and decorations as a way to wish peace to their loved ones witnessing their most precious day together.
4. Mandarin Ducks
Mandarin ducks are said to be extremely faithful and devoted to their partner. Although unlike doves, male Mandarin ducks don’t help their partner in incubating their eggs. However, Mandarin ducks are still used as symbols of love, devotion, happiness, affection, and marital fidelity in Japan and China.
As a symbol, the Mandarin ducks always come in pairs. It is used as a good luck charm and is believed to serve as a talisman for creating harmony, especially in love relationships, thus making it a good symbol for marriage.
In feng shui culture, a pair of Mandarin ducks is placed in a couple’s bedroom as it is said to enhance love and romance.
5. True Lover’s Knot
Also called a true love knot, the true lover’s knot is a complicated decorative knot or bowknot that is not easy to untie.
Like all the other knots, the true lover’s knot has been used to symbolize love and union since ancient times. True lover’s knot, in particular, is symbolic of mutual love and ties of love.
The true lover’s knot is part of many marriage traditions around the world as a symbol of unbreakable bond between two people.
The symbol is often featured in artwork. It is also a popular design in jewelry, worn by many not always for its symbolical meaning but for its simple yet timeless and elegant design.
6. Wedding Bell
The wedding bell symbol has Celtic origins.
In Celtic tradition, the bride and groom couple should receive at least one bell as a wedding gift, which is then placed in a spot in their home where everyone can see it. When an argument sparks between the couple, the husband or the wife may ring the bell to end the argument and declare a truce, which doesn’t necessarily mean an admission of fault or guilt.
Church bells are part of most wedding ceremonies across the globe. In many cultures, they are a symbol of prosperity and abundance.
The ringing of bells is also symbolic of protection as it is believed to ward off evil spirits and entities.
7. Unity Braid / Cord of Three Stands
The Unity braid or the Cord of Three Strands is often part of wedding rituals in many cultures because it symbolizes the oneness of the love shared by the bride and groom.
The three strands are said to represent God, the bride, and the groom. Braiding these strands together is symbolic of putting God at the center of marriage, and the union of the bride and groom will bind them together for life.
The colors of these strands represent the three: the gold strand for God, white for the bride and her purity, and purple for the groom.
8. Unity Candle
The Unity candle is part of a traditional wedding, signifying the merging of two individuals and/or the families of the bride and the groom. It is a symbol of the creation of a blended family.
While the lighting of a unity candle is not based on any particular religious faith, this tradition is common in weddings.
Representatives of both families – the mothers, traditionally – light one candle each and place it beside the larger Unity candle at the start of the wedding ceremony. The Unity candle is then lit by the bride and groom after the exchange of rings.
9. Wedding Rings
Wedding rings are essential in any wedding. They are the most common symbol of marriage as wearing them is the best indicator of the civil status of a married couple.
Wedding rings symbolize not only eternal love but eternal commitment to one’s spouse as well. The rings are exchanged between the bride and groom during their wedding ceremony and ideally worn forever. This exchange of rings is done while saying their vows to each other.
Wedding rings are traditionally made of gold, which is symbolic of the purity and endless aspects of marriage; while the unbroken circle of the wedding ring symbolizes the marriage vow and the tie that binds the couple which should not be broken.
10. Double Happiness Symbol
The Chinese character 囍is a common Chinese symbol for marriage and weddings, although it can also be seen at other celebrations. It means “double happiness,” or the “happy” character written twice.
This symbol has a very interesting story. According to ancient Chinese legends, a student fell ill in a mountain village while traveling to the capital to take an exam to be a minister of the royal court. He was cured by an herbalist and his daughter. The student and the herbalist’s daughter fell in love and when he left to resume his travel, she wrote a poetic verse or couplet on his hand.
The student passed his exam and the Emperor asked for a couplet. The student gave him the herbalist’s daughter’s couplet, which delighted the Emperor who then appointed him as a new court minister. He returned to the village to marry the herbalist’s daughter.
At their wedding, they hung a red paper on which they had written two “happy” characters. The Double Happiness character had become a wedding symbol since, representing good luck and fortune for both the bride and groom. This symbol is commonly found in red or gold.
