Maybe it’s a stretch to say I like funerals. But I do like it when the family of the newly departed speak publicly at a service, sharing stories or memories, and giving a sense of the person (if you didn’t know them) or — if you did — the depth of the loss.

So often, it feels to me like a chance to reconcile a kind of truth about the people who are part of the story of our lives — a truth that’s hard to acknowledge when someone is still alive and, say, still swigging milk out of the fridge carton or endlessly forgetting to put down the toilet seat. It sums things up, one final time, at the end: This is who they were, this is what they did, this is the way they made a difference. It’s a chance to remember that all the smaller annoyances and petty grievances don’t really matter, and what matters is the history we write together, and the way a life is lived.

In other words, I love it when people own their own rituals — be it birth, death, or one of the many life passages in between. I was reminded of that when I saw this video in which a St. Paul couple put their own spin on the traditional wedding march. I don’t know Jill and Kevin, but I found this at my friend Sonny Gill’s site, and you might have already seen it elsewhere: The video has been making the rounds of the internet lately because it’s pretty terrific.

I love the nonconformity of Jill and Kevin’s approach, and the fun vibe, and the celebration of it all. But what I love most is the way that this couple owns every second of the start of their life together.

There’s a good lesson in here — for life passages, for parents, for our kids, in business, in relationships, and so on: What if, instead of doing things to way they’ve always been done, just because they’ve always been done that way, you spin it in a fresh, new way? What then? What if? Business types call this being “remarkable.” But really, it’s all about trying an uncommon approach that can rise to become something extraordinary.

Oh — and please share any rituals you’ve owned (or seen owned) below. I’d love to hear about them.