Above: Linda and Grant’s humanist wedding ceremony ended with them taking flight into their next chapter.
Photo credit Adelle Mungavin Photography – Blog author: Sam Conroy, Fuze Celebrant
Have you ever seen the film ‘Practical Magic’?
If yes, then this next part will make perfect sense! And if not, watch it! It truly is one of the most magical, heartfelt, romantic fantasy films around, encapsulating all things important about love and marriage, and is based on the novel, of the same name, by Alice Hoffman. And! It stars the fantastic Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, amongst other well-known amazing actors! It’s a film that truly will make your heart warm! (I’m not paid to plug this film; I just think it’s absolutely, fabulous!)
Linda and Grant are all smiles after jumping into their beautiful future together at The Redhurst Hotel:
Photo credit Adelle Mungavin Photography
Practical Magic showcases what is often thought of as the epitome of a broom use – a broomstick for witches to fly on – certainly within the modern era of broom use! But there is one scene, where a coven of women quite literally pick up their brooms and sweep away the ashes of………haha! no film spoilers here, you’ll have to watch it to see! This scene however highlights perfectly the other, more common purpose of a broom which is to sweep away the remnants of something messy. So, Alice Hoffman, portrays in her story, one of the main symbolic reasons, we jump the broom in a wedding, so beautifully and poignantly.
In weddings, especially uniquely personal humanist marriage ceremonies, the broom holds a very similar magical power – something deeply symbolic and meaningful! To jump over the broom, you quite literally, and symbolically sweep away the past and jump, with a clean sweep, into a new and exciting future. Such a great, quirky, and fun addition to any wedding ceremony celebrations! So, let’s explain Jumping the Broom!
So, where did it come from?
Well, that is indeed a mystery! And sadly, for me at least anyway, not from Practical Magic! It seems the tradition of jumping the broom, holds a differing meaning in different cultures which is why its origin is often somewhat debated. Like many other humanist wedding symbolic gestures, such as the Scottish handfast and oathing stone, jumping the broom enabled those from a marginalised group or living in extenuating circumstances, to marry in a way that broke away from traditional marriage norms.
So, if we looked at the handfast for example, this was used before wedding rings were a thing and was where people would bind their lives together using two ribbons. The ribbon tied around their wrists, and was bound by a knot, symbolising the binding together of their two lives into one. When rings did become a thing, they were only for the very rich and as we know, love knows no bounds and so handfast it was! And people were still able to marry regardless of their status in the world.
A ‘practical magic’ fun look at what’s possible
Jumping of the Broom has a similar connotation, in one of its explanations at least. That dating back to the 1840’s and 50’s, enslaved African Americans held no legal rights therefore they could not legally marry. So, it’s believed that for some, they jumped over a broom into the land of matrimony, and in turn, proved that legal rights did not prevent two souls deeply in love from joining together in marriage. In fact, when slavery was abolished and if an officiant wasn’t available, some couples still jumped over the broom into marriage, choosing to legally marry some years down the line. Maybe that phrase ‘you don’t need a piece of paper to prove you love someone’ stems from jumping the broom!
Anyway, for the Grey’s Anatomy fans among us, you may remember when Dr Miranda Bailey finally marries Dr Ben Warren. Ben says to Miranda ‘do you love me’ and Miranda replies ‘more than all the love I can hold in my heart’ (how heart melting is that!) before jumping the broom together. Perhaps, it was in homage to their ancestors? Or their heritage? Or both? but absolutely, unequivocally, in homage to their love and commitment to one another and proving that jumping the broom does indeed hold a special place in popular modern-day culture and wedding ceremonies.
Other theories suggest that it originated in West Africa, where a broom would be waved over the couple’s head to ward off evil spirits before it was laid before them to jump over. Another suggests that it came from Roma and Celtic communities, where their differing beliefs meant that they could never be married by the catholic church – the main body for marriages at that time. So, the act of jumping the broom became known as ‘Besom Wedding’ (Besom being a type of broomstick). Rural Anglo-Saxons, in particular the Welsh, embraced this practice too, at least during the 19th century. Interestingly, it’s thought that marriages were doomed or invalid if either of the couple touched the broom on the way over, and if they jumped backwards over the broom, the marriage would be annulled! So, if you do choose to do this in your wedding ceremony, don’t fall backwards and jump quite high, well as high as heels allow!
Me and my happy couple, our smiles tell their own story
Linda and Grant
But regardless of how it originated, jumping the broom holds a beautiful place within a humanist wedding ceremony. So, when my couple, Linda, and Grant – the new Mr & Mrs Middleton, married on the 17th of February, this year, 2025, said they’d love to include it in their own wedding ceremony, I quite literally ‘jumped’ at the chance! As did they!
But what does the broom traditionally, actually look like?
Well, did you know that in some culture’s, brooms are actually heirlooms? Who knew! Deep rooted into families, the same broom is often passed down generation to generation to use in their wedding ceremonies. But if you don’t have an heirloom to use, nowadays, the broom is unlikely to be something you have just lying around in your typical collection of household sweeping tools! The broom is usually around 3ft long, with a wooden handle and lots of natural bristles. So, time to hit those car boot sales or do a bit of online shopping! And, of course, would it even be a wedding broom if it wasn’t customised to suit the wedding?! Brides and grooms when using this gesture, add silk ribbons, flowers, beading or lace to their brooms. For Linda and Grant, they spray painted their broom white and added a bouquet of flowers, the colours of which, blended with the colours of their wedding perfectly – cream and purple.
Linda and Grant’s broom, Photo credit Adelle Mungavin Photography
So, what does it mean and how do we do it?
Well, as I’ve alluded to already, jumping the broom was another way for people to join together especially if they did not hold any legal rights to marry. But brooms signify more than just the ability to marry away from the norm of tradition. Symbolically, the broom was chosen because it has been the ‘symbol of the home’ within many different cultures throughout history and represents the threshold between past and present, acting as a symbol of new beginnings.
It signifies the sweeping away of the past – all the things that have hurt us or caused us pain – or simply sweeping away the remnants of the past that no longer serves us – and a jump into the future, free in the knowledge that a new, clean beginning awaits. Since brooms are, let’s be honest, known for cleaning and sweeping (as well as flying, obviously!). But it can also mark the beginning of making a home together and calling upon support for the marriage from the couple’s entire community of family and friends, all ready to celebrate their marriage with them.
For Linda and Grant, jumping the broom symbolised making a dedication of working together, through any tough times ahead – as well as the easy, fun, and exciting times too! That they would leave behind their past, sweeping it away, and jump into their future together, secure in their love for one another. For a couple who have spent the last 18 years together, 18 years to the very day when they married – a very special date indeed – it was an agreement to always work together as they continue their story as husband and wife.
A careful placing of Linda and Grant’s broom sets the scene for what’s about to come
The Act Itself
The broom was placed before them – after being discreetly hidden from their guests – and just before the end of their ceremony, words about the meaning of the broom and why they were doing it were said. But the broom can also be handed to the couple, to sweep the ground in front of them, signifying sweeping away their former single lives and their past problems before it’s laid down before them to jump over as a united couple.
Linda and Grant chose to do it as the precursor to them walking back up the aisle so guests were all primed to ‘clap, cheer, whistle and make as much noise’ as they possibly could as I announced them, for the very first time, as ‘the new Mr & Mrs Middleton’! And they jumped to rapturous applause and lots of smiling faces – including their own! But of course, if you wanted to, you could get your guests involved by getting them to do a countdown before you jump and then conclude your ceremony afterwards.
The moment of truth, Linda and Grant jumping over their broom – Photo credit Adelle Mungavin Photography
Unleashing My Super Power
Being able to use my superpower as a celebrant to marry two people so deeply and truly in love is something I’ll never take for granted, and it was great honour and a privilege to join Linda and Grant in marriage. As a celebrant, being able to create a uniquely bespoke and personal ceremony, is one of the many attractive qualities of a humanist ceremony and to include something so fun and entertaining, yet poignantly beautiful as jumping the broom, shows that these types of ceremony, really are all about the couple and are far from boring! I wish Linda and Grant a lifetime of love, laughter, happiness, and adventure which started when they jumped into the matrimonial land!
So, there you have it, the beautifully symbolic jumping the broom. It’s quirky and it’s fun. It’s a little bit theatre and a little bit different and it’s very, very meaningful! The perfect way to end an already magical wedding ceremony and your guests will all love it too! Shall we count them down……3,2,1…..Jump!
Blog author: Sam Conroy, Fuze Celebrant
