Ceremony Planning Tips to Make Your Big Day a Breeze
Your wedding day should be nothing short of amazing and everything you want it to be! You’ve spent countless hours, endless energy, and probably a bit of hair-pulling to get everything you want, and your ceremony is without a doubt the critical focal point to your celebration - it’s where you and your forever love finally get to say those magic words…I DO.
And when your dress is pressed, vows are written, and rings are packed, you might think there’s nothing left to plan - but WAIT!!
No matter how many times you might hear “Do you really need a ceremony rehearsal?”, our advice to you is always going to be a resounding YES.
As a wedding planner who has helped countless couples in New England over the past six years, let me tell you why!
Felisha Lees Photography
Rehearsals provide the opportunity to practice everything — and everyone — coming together. Like you’d expect with a Broadway performance, a dress rehearsal is key to not only ensuring the plan goes accordingly, but provides you with the chance to firm up details, answer questions you might not have thought of, or change things around.
For instance, you’ve informed your wedding party of where to stand during the ceremony and which order they’ll be walking down the aisle, but what about any family members? Do they know which seats to go to? How many chairs are in each row? Where will readers or presenters be seated? How will the best person(s) know when it’s time to hand over the rings? What’s the proper order for recessional? Who will take the flower girl for a walk if she gets squirmy?
Whether you have a professional coordinator, expert officiant, or especially if you have neither, we are here to guide you with some of our top ceremony planning tips to consider ahead of your wedding day:
Photography credits (top left to bottom right): Love, Sunday | Move Mountains Co | Pablo & Samantha | Savannah Sirios Photography | Rachel Girouard Photography | Sara Zarrella Photography | Flora & Fauna | Move Mountains Co | Melissa Lewis Photography |The Talented Photographer | Savannah Sirios Photography | Joanna Fisher Photography
THE ART OF GIVING YOU AWAY
Seems like an obvious question, but it’s more than just the who is giving you away…it’s the how. Practicing the often emotional “hand-off” of the bride or groom takes a little finessing on all parties, but what’s most important is doing what feels natural. If the bride/groom is walking in the procession with a family member, escorting them to their seats with a sweet embrace before taking their place is often a nice parting of ways.
If you’re a bride/groom who will have a parent(s) escort you down the aisle, how will they “give” you to your soon-to-be spouse? A handshake or hug, a fist bump or kiss? Anything goes that fits you, them, and the relationship. Practicing it ahead of time can help it feel more natural on the wedding day!
Move Moutains Co
SEALED WITH A KISS
The long-awaited, first time as a married couple, kiss - it’s going to be epic and trust us, you’re going to want the moment captured in the best way possible! Ask your officiant (at rehearsal!) to step to the side when the invite you to kiss for the first time, so that your photographer can get a clear shot of the two of you in sweet embrace.
Added bonus: when the ceremony concludes and you’re walking back down the aisle with your betrothed, pause about halfway down the rows of chairs, turn to each other and give another epic kiss (the dip is always a fav) - one amazing shot with your guests turned to look at you and smiling!
DON’t FORGET ABOUT THE KIDS
Whether you choose to have children as invited guests or not, should you decide to include littles in your ceremony in any way, you’ll want to be thinking of them and have a conversation with those who will be helping. Depending on their age, understand they likely won’t have the attention span for a more than a ten minute ceremony, so you’ll want to make sure someone is appointed to being in charge of keeping them still, quiet, and possibly walking out of the room/area with them if they start to cause too much disruption. Having small lollipops on their seat or with their caregiver (if appropriate for their age) can provide not only a fun treat for them once they’ve mastered their walk down the aisle, but it keeps them busy (aka mouths closed) for a good chunk of time; which is a win win for both you and them!
Meg Heriot Photography
Ensuring you have thought out the best possible plan for your ceremony and communicating it with the key players will guarantee your wedding ceremony feels natural, organic, true to the two of you, and goes seamlessly on your wedding day!