Wedding Time capsules are becoming a growing trend in wedding ceremonies. As a wedding officiant in Raleigh, North Carolina, I’ve had many couples ask for this type of “unity” ceremony during their weddings over the past couple of years. These also appear to be very popular outside of wedding ceremonies as well. You can even find pre-made kits available on the Internet. So here’s everything you need to know about this trendy part of the wedding ceremony.

Definition of a Wedding Time Capsule

A wedding time capsule or keepsake box helps you save all your mementos, memories, and future goals, but you decide in advance how long you’ll wait before opening it. Then you write a directive to yourselves that you’ll place somewhere near or on the box to help you remember to stick to the re-opening plan.

In wedding ceremonies, the capsule is a normally a box where you put all these things inside. Typically, this is a wooden box that you purchase that is inscribed with your wedding date and names. There are many things you can put in the box, but most of the time you put love letters to each other, and/or notes from your friends and family. In addition, many couples leave room in the box for a bottle of wine. Since the adage that “like a good wine, a good marriage will mature and get better with age”.

Not suitable for burying

This type of time capsule isn’t one that you’d want to bury in your backyard. Most people who’ve never heard of a wedding time capsule before will assume that you’re supposed to dig it up in a year or two and have a little party. Of course, there are a couple of issues with this.

First, your chances of leaving your precious time capsule long before the appointed date are very high. The U.S. Census recently reported that the average American moves every five years. Even if you’re able to leave your time capsule for five years, there’s a good chance that the location you choose will no longer exist by then. If you want to ensure that you’ll have your time capsule to reminisce over for many years. For this reason, your wedding time capsule should be placed in an area of prominence in your home, such as on the fireplace mantel.

Variations on the Wedding Time Capsule Theme

You may have friends and family that might not have had much participation in the wedding planning process. But creating your own wedding time capsule is a lot of fun, and you can have them join in the that process which is a great way for you to remember them years later. Once couple that I married placed their wedding time capsule box on a table near the entrance to their wedding venue. Beside it was blank note cards and a sign for them to write a short note and place it into the box. This was a great addition to the couple’s love letters that also went into the time capsule for them to open years later.  

Here is another wrinkle on this variation. To make things even more interesting, ask participants to predict things that cover a variety of topics. Such as:

  • How many children they predict you’ll have?
  • The type of home you’ll have in 10 years.
  • How many career changes will have you gone through?
  • Which nation will be our closest ally, and which one will we be most angry with?.
  • What animal will have the most followers on Instagram?
  • … and so on.

You can also ask your guests to write you short notes telling you what they think you should know in five years. If you really want to take this to a wonderful extreme, encourage each guest to compose a story that illustrates how they think you’ll be different in five years, and bring with them to the wedding to place in the wedding time capsule.

When to Open the Time Capsule?

When you open the wedding time capsule box is up to you. It also depends on the variations (like the guest’s predictions) you’ve incorporated in the process. Many couples just write and include their love letters, put a bottle wine in, and then open the box on their first anniversary. Then, they can write another set of love letters (sealed of course) and another bottle of wine and repeat the process every year. But this would also work in 3 year, 5 year, and even 10 year rounds.  

Ben Poston is a Wedding Officiant in Raleigh NC and the owner of Ben Poston Weddings. His passion and mission is to help couples create a personalized Love Story wedding ceremony, and deliver it with style, charm and grace. You can find more about Ben Poston Weddings at BenPostonWeddings.com