Breaking bread, sharing bread, blessing bread! It’s all good. Bread is a spiritual catalyst in almost every organized (and disorganized!) religion. It is a symbol of sustanence, of support, of nurturing. Many of my wedding ceremonies include a “breaking and sharing of the bread” as a metaphor for two families joining and offering a precious gift; the gift of food. I will often tell a couple that their care and kindness offers each of them, “bread for the journey”; in other words, their unconditional support is sustanence of the most basic and valuable kind.

A word over the bread is also a great way to start off your wedding reception if a traditional blessing doesn’t seem authentic to you.