This is a popular ceremony at Yosemite or other local ponds, rivers, the ocean or streams. When a husband and wife are about to be announced, the Bride and Groom take a stone from a basket and repeat a verse together. These are known as "Blessing Stones."  The wedding party and guests are also then given "blessing stones" too, prior to being seated.  Then, a passage is read that explains the symbolism of the stones. When the ceremony ends, the guests follow the Bride and Groom down to the water's edge and make a wish or a blessing upon their stones. Then, at one time,  everyone casts their stones into water at the same time. The ripples that are made represent everyone's path's crossing, and bring love and good wishes not only for the couple but for everyone around them.

Each guest has been given a small polished stone upon arriving.

Before the Bride and Groom met, their lives were on different paths with different destinations. But love has brought them together and joined these separate paths into one. Each one of the Bride's and Groom's friends and family here today has been given a small polished stone that represents their unique individuality and their presence at their wedding. You also each have a stone of your own that symbolizes your previous separate lives, separate sets of friends, separate families and the different life's journeys you once traveled. Everyone is then asked to take out the stone they have been given and pause to make a wish or blessing for happiness and good will for the couple for the future of their marriage. Everyone pauses to make their wish.  Stones are collected, then the couple adds their stones to the container.  As the stones are combined with love into one container, so now are friends, and family, joined through you, into one.

The unity candle lighting ceremony is becoming more and more popular in today's weddings. The ceremony symbolizes the pledge of unity between the bride and groom and the merging of two families.  It usually occurs after the exchanging of rings and before the couple is pronounced husband and wife. Usually the mothers light their tapers before taking their seats, usually to a special piece of music.  When the bride and groom light the center candle, a song is sung or played. They either take a few minutes up by the altar to exchange a few special words or they can take a flower that was placed by the candle and present it to their mothers at this time. Traditionally, there are three candles. The mothers each light one of the side candles. The bride and groom then each take one of the side candles and together they light the center candle. They may then blow out their individual side candles to symbolize the extinguishing of their two single lives. Or they may keep those candles burning to symbolize that their indivduality is not extinguished, as they are united in marriage.

This is the same as the stone blessing ceremony with shells. The guests gather them on their way out to the ceremony site.