As a wedding officiant who customizes ceremonies, I often work with couples who create their own rituals or adapt rituals for their wedding ceremony (which is itself a ritual!).  Rituals such as the Unity Candle, Handfasting, Rose Ceremony, Breaking of the Glass, Water Ceremony, Ribbon Cutting and even the Ring Ceremony, all come from a rich religious, cultural or spiritual context.  However, sometimes because of this association, or any number of other reasons, they do not "feel just right" for people. 

Rituals are designed to honor the significance and meaning of our lives.  So while tradition is lovely, I find myself rewriting explanations, adapting parts of rituals to include others, or creating new ones which bring together different elements of several rituals.  There are no hard and fast "rules", but here are a few of the questions I ask the couples I work with: "Why do you want to do a ritual?" "What is it you wish to honor in your relationship?" "Do you want to include parents or the community?"  "Is God or spirit invited into the ritual?"  "Is there a cultural and/or religious affiliation you want to celebrate?" "Are there rituals you have seen that you like or don't like?" 

In this process, I have co-created chocolate rituals, rock ceremonies, utilized yogic traditions, creatively honored different religious and cultural traditions such as Irish Catholic and Jewish, Buddhist and Christian, Pagan and Taoist, Agnostic and Mystic, and a host of other combination's!  The important part of this is to have fun and play! Please share with us some of the rituals you have created so we can all learn from each other.  (picture: part of a Taoist-Jewish Ceremony where circling was incorporated from a mystical context)