Veil, Cord, and Coin

It’s now been almost 3 months since our oldest son was married and we are finally starting to see the photos from the day.

While I recognize that it’s heartwarming for the family and close friends to revisit a happy occasion by reminiscing through the photos, I wonder whether the rest of the world finds it just as interesting, or if it’s merely a common event with different faces and clothes.

There is however one part of Jordan and Dempsey’s day that I wanted to share because I had never witnessed it before and I loved the symbolism it represented.

It’s called the Veil, Cord, and Coin Ceremony.

Our new son-in-law is from the Philippines and the young couple decided to include this piece of Filipino tradition into their day.  Weddings are all about symbolism and it seemed like a very appropriate thing to do.

The Veil

In a traditional wedding, after the vows and rings are exchanged, the bride’s veil is draped over the groom’s shoulders.  This symbolizes their oneness and introduction to the world ‘dressed’ as one.

With no bride in the ceremony, a veil was provided and pinned to the shoulders of the two grooms … although if you had asked Jordan, he would have preferred to call it a cape.

The Cord

Then a white cord is placed over their shoulders in a figure eight design to represent infinity and the bond of fidelity promised to each other.

The Coins

Lastly, a bowl with 13 gold coins is introduced – or in this case, highly polished ‘Loonies’, the Canadian $1 coin.

… and no, the name Loonie doesn’t mean it’s a piece of folly, but rather is a nod to the bird – the Loon – on the back of the coin.

The coins, symbolizing the hope of a future with mutual support and prosperity, are then passed between the hands of the wedding couple.

In this case, Jordan and Dempsey kept passing the coins back and forth between them several times.  They were clearly having fun with this.  Meanwhile I was holding my breath in superstitious fear that they would drop them and invoke bad luck.

I had hoped the 13 coins would have some thoughtful significance like 13 key values or virtues, but was disappointed to find only references to Jesus and the 12 Apostles.  It may be just my shrivelled little agnostic soul speaking, but that’s a lost opportunity in the symbolism department.

In the end, their untraditional marriage was full of traditional elements and having now experienced the wedding of one of my children, I appreciate that these small customs – in whatever form they take – impart huge meaning in our lives.

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Note – none of the photos in this post belong to me.  They were taken by the wedding photographer, Brianna Premo, hired for the occasion and used with permission given by my son.