Let’s talk about the most important part of the wedding day-the ceremony! Ceremony details are some of our favorite, and they are so special to the couple. There are so many things to consider when planning your ceremony, and we’re covering the basics.
Officiants
Every wedding is different, just like each couple. Some couples know that they have someone in their lives that they want to perform their ceremony, while some do not. We can make recommendations on who would be a good fit with companies we work with often if you don’t have anyone in mind! These officiants can range from certain religious denominations all the way to non-religious. If you are having a family member or friend perform the ceremony, we do caution that they are good at public speaking and preferably have performed a ceremony before. There are lots of online resources that they can pull from to come up with the perfectly personalized ceremony to fit the two of you. Either way, you’ll want to make sure you are comfortable with the person who’s ‘sealing the deal’ for you!
Inclusions
Once you have decided on who will be marrying you, you’ll want to have a hand in what is actually going into your ceremony. The main body of the ceremony is a welcome, addressing your guests, possibly who is giving away the bride, readings, vows, rings, kiss and pronouncement. Unless you are getting married in a Catholic Church, we are seeing most ceremonies be no more than 20 minutes nowadays. Some couples want the bare minimum, while some want to include family members in readings. Are you repeating vows from your officiant, or are you reading your own vows publicly to each other? Are you wanting to include a unity ceremony (sand, candle, wine box, planting a tree, etc)? Our advice is to make the ceremony as personalized as you’d like them to be, while focusing on the two of you! We also highly recommend having a rehearsal, usually the day prior to the wedding, to review all ceremony details with your wedding party and immediate family members that are involved. Having your officiant present is a must!
Decor
Similarly to the rest of the wedding, planning the decor of the ceremony details should be cohesive to the wedding! We have seen everything from the most simple to the most elaborate as far as ceremony decor. There are multiple ways to dress up the ‘altar’ with a ceremony arch, but however you decide to decorate, keep in mind that it is the shortest amount of time of the day. Your guests will not be spending that much time in the ceremony area, but you do still want it to be a focal point of the day, framing the couple!
No matter what is included your ceremony or how you decide to decorate it, keep it to your liking and focusing on the main point of the day- you marrying the love of your life! We are happy to give any advice on what we’ve seen in the many ceremonies we’ve gotten to witness over the years.
