Take the Plunge: Elope in Style

Edited By Jennifer L. Price

Are you ready to take the plunge and marry the man of your dreams, but want to avoid all the stress of planning a big wedding?  Just head to The Inn of The Five Graces in Santa Fe, New Mexico and let them do all the work for you.

Niall Reid, the General Manager at The Inn of The Five Graces acquired a certification on-line as an ordained priest from the Universal Life Church of Love, approved as a legal endorsement by the County Clerk of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Going beyond the call of duty in his GM role as a marriage official, Niall is offering several colorful Elopement Packages to couples ready to take the plunge at the spur of the moment in an intimate southwestern setting.   Those who stay at the Inn of The Five Graces for three days or more will receive the wedding ceremony as a gift from the management; there is a $200 ceremony charge for couples staying only one or two nights.

The hotel draws on its Southwestern heritage to offer the following packages:

The Five Senses
A ceremony catering to all the senses at the outset of your journey together – sight: a long lingering eyeful of each other, your first mutual gaze as husband and wife; smell: fragrant local piñon wood incense burners scenting the courtyard; sound: native American wind chimes lend a natural accompaniment to the ceremony; taste: a sangria toast for the bride and groom; touch: the soft velvety sensation of the sage bouquets holding each of your rings.

The Dowry
Elements of an ancient wedding ceremony enrich this event, during which thirteen gold coins (representing the groom's dowry to his bride) are blessed by the officiator and passed between the hands of the newlyweds several times. A large rosary or lasso is wound around the couple's shoulders in a figure-8 during the wedding ceremony to symbolize their union. The Inn of The Five Graces will   add its own bounty to the "dowry" – one complimentary night's stay for the couple's first anniversary.

Beginnings: African American Custom
The old slave tradition of jumping over a broomstick together to start a new married life is sometimes traced to a much older African tribal marriage ritual of placing sticks on the ground to represent the couple's new home. Today, the jumping of the sticks is a symbol of sweeping away of the old, and welcoming the new.   At The Inn of The Five Graces, we'll help you "make the leap" in style, with a pathway of several types of wood guiding you to a circle of stone    with a burning flame symbolizing the unity of becoming one. Niall sanctifies the flame with sprinkles of tobacco, sweet grass and corn, symbolizing signifying the promise to nurture and support. The ashes are presented in a keepsake pottery bowl.

Native American Tradition
The Blanket ritual is a beloved part of Native American culture – an The Inn of the Five Graces makes it a memorable part of your Santa Fe elopement: two blue blankets are wrapped around the shoulders of both bride and groom, symbolizing the separateness of their past lives.   After their marriage has been blessed, they are draped with a single large white blanket to signify their happy union.  The Inn of The Five Graces will have the blanket elegantly monogrammed and sent to you once you have returned home as a married couple.

Candlelight and Butterflies
In this symbolic candle-lighting ceremony, the bride and groom light their own small candles, representing their distinct backgrounds and values.   Then together, the couple lights a large single candle symbolizing the union of their lives; the flames of the two smaller candles remain lit to signify that although they are now one, they are still each unique individuals. At the ceremony's end, 100 butterflies will be released from the courtyard in a literally uplifting and colorful expression of joy and hope.

To book your vacation and become an official married couple, visit http://www.fivegraces.com/.