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Posts Tagged ‘Ceremony’

Understanding the sequence of events for your wedding day can help ease the nerves of the bride and groom.  It also can aid in the planning of the big day.  From the processional to the vows to the recessional, the wedding ceremony is a beautiful day the guests and the wedding party will cherish.

The processional is the start of the wedding ceremony.  This is the important part that involves the presentation of the bridal party and the bride, and is usually set to music.  Once the wedding party is in position, it’s time for the greeting.  The greeting is done by the minister or officiant to welcome the guests to the ceremony.  

It can also be a simple thank you to the guests or a reading of how the couple met.  The statement of intention is when all who attend the wedding are told the bride and groom intend to be married.  The minister may also choose to speak briefly about the commitment of marriage at this time.

The exchange of wedding vows is the emotionally binding part of the ceremony.  This is when the bride and groom make promises to one another.  The bride and groom may also choose to recite their own vows at this time.  Following the vows, the couple will exchange wedding rings.  The bride and groom take turns placing the ring on the finger of each other, with words said to official seal the marriage.  

Following the exchange of rings, it’s finally time to pronounce the couple husband and wife and then present the couple.  Now that the couple is officially married, the recessional begins and the wedding party makes their way down the aisle.  This marks the official end of the wedding ceremony and the beginning of the fun wedding reception that follows.

Most cultures are steeped in traditions of all sorts. In America, the melting pot of the world, many traditions have been forgotten. Therefore, it’s pretty amazing that the one tradition that has stood the test of time is the wedding ceremony. From generation to generation, most people know the standards of a traditional wedding ceremony.

Guests arrive and are seated. The ceremony site sits before them. A Priest, Officiate or Justice of the Peace readies the guests for the ceremony. The mother of the bride and parents of the groom are seated last. The groom and the groomsmen enter and take their places. Then the bridesmaids enter, one by one and take their places opposite the groomsmen. The last to enter is the bride. She makes her grand appearance usually with her father at her side.

The ceremony is sometimes personalized or sometimes take place according the tradition of the religion the couple represents. At the end the couple kisses and the celebration begins as the groom now escorts his wife back down the aisle to be showered in love and congratulations.

Other traditions that have remained include the ‘something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue,’ tradition. Even brides that choose untraditional ceremonies often follow this rule The old and borrowed can come from something the mother passed down, jewelry or more. The blue can be a garter, or sapphire earrings or a necklace. Something new is often the dress or a gift the bride was given for the occasion.

The white dress. According to YourWedding101.com, ‘Wearing white also dates back to Victorian times when Queen Victoria abandoned the usual royal tradition of wearing a silver gown, instead choosing to wear white. Before that time brides simply wore their best gown, rather than a special wedding dress . The popularity of white can also be attributed to it symbolizing purity and virginity. White was also thought to ward off evil spirits.’

One tradition that is slowly going out of style is throwing rice. Because rice can be fatal for the birds that eat it, sometimes flower petals are substituted, or the guests can all be given bubbles to blow as the couple leaves. Another idea is to use sparklers. This creates an incredible memory.

The first dance is also a moment that many people who attend weddings look forward to. It allows the couple to steal the spotlight and to share a dance, a laugh or a sweet word. Friends and family may be asked to join them at some point, or the couple may spend the moment lost in each other’s eyes.

While wedding ceremonies come in all shapes and sizes, from hundreds of guests to close family gatherings, the majority of traditions have stayed the same. Weddings ceremonies are a way to celebrate love, to join a new couple together and to start a new life.

As a wedding officiant, I help persons in personalizing the wedding ceremony that is right for their special day – and whether your choice is formal, traditional, contemporary or casual your wedding vows makes the day memorable not only for you but for your guest as well.

And while there are you a variety of wedding vows available, more and more couples are opting to write their own vows.

So if that is your desire here are some tips for you on writing your own wedding vow.

The first bit of advice to you is that while you want your wedding vows to be meaningful you also want to be as concise as possible.

By keeping your vows concise, you avoid overloading it with redundant and meaningless word which distracts from your intention and overwhelm your guest. A short ceremony is always better and I promise, you will get lots of complements from your guest.

Secondly, be sure to allow your wedding officiant or minister to review and edit your vows.

It will certainly help with the quality and completeness of the vows.

Let your feeling show. Your wedding ceremony is the time to let your feeling show as you are declaring to the world your love for each other. So do not be afraid to express your feeling in your wedding vows. The good thing is that you can say anything that you want to say, that is fitting for your relationship and wedding ceremony as long as you both agree to be married somewhere in the wedding vows.

Review what others have done.

We all need some inspiration so feel free to look at what other couples have done and you will be surprised by how closely your feeling relates to others. You can also get lots of insights from wedding poems and songs.

Finally, while you can chose to write your wedding vows together or apart. I recommend that you do it together as it will give you an added opportunity to bond, so get together. And be sure to have plenty of facial napkins as I promise you, there will be lots of emotions!