Wedding processional

Rehearsals Reduce Stress

 in Ceremony / Wedding Party / Wedding processional / Wedding Rehearsal / Weddings  tagged stess reduction / wedding / wedding ceremony / wedding party / wedding rehearsal by

Rehearsals reduce stress for the couple being married, their attendants and parents, and anyone else who has a role in the wedding ceremony. While I often tell people that wedding ceremonies are not rocket science, a rehearsal will help ensure that everyone looks their best and is comfortable with the experience.

I include a rehearsal in the pricing for my celebrant services for weddings because I think they are an important part of ceremony preparation. At rehearsal I meet with the couple, their attendants (bridesmaids and groomsmen), parents, and any other people who have a role in the ceremony. This includes flower girls, ring bearers, readers, and friends or family who will be running the music for the ceremony.

Rehearsals reduce stress by allowing people in the processional to practice where they are going to walk and stand. They allow readers or musicians to practice in the ceremony space. The wedding party sees who they are following up the aisle, and we discuss what cues will tell them when to walk. Once in front, everyone can find their place and know where to stand for the ceremony.

Beyond basic movement, we chat about how the men are to offer their arm to the women, and where the women are to place their hand on the offered arm. Our world is so casual these days, that this small bit of etiquette is often totally unknown to the wedding participants. We also discuss how the women should hold their flowers and remind the men to keep their hands out of their pockets. These small things can result in a more elegant appearance and much better pictures, too.

Rehearsals are often followed with a dinner or social gathering. This also reduces stress as members of the wedding party who haven’t met before can get to know each other and be more comfortable with each other at the ceremony. The wedding day is full of hustle and bustle and many guests, so a rehearsal dinner is a great opportunity to celebrate privately with those special people who are part of your wedding party, too.

Ceremonies to Remember: Unique Wedding Processionals

 in Ceremony / Personalization / Trends / Wedding processional  tagged custom ceremony / custom wedding ceremony / processional / wedding ceremony / wedding processional by


Unique wedding processionals offer the opportunity to be true to yourself, to your relationship as a couple, and to the relationships within your family. This post is the second in the Ceremonies to Remember series where I reflect on some of the special moments I’ve experienced and some of the creative parts of the more than 400 ceremonies I’ve conducted over the last 10+ years. The last post, on ceremonies for family members, can be found here .

Traditional wedding processionals have the bride being escorted into the ceremony space by one or both parents. If you have close relationships with your parent(s), this can be a lovely tradition to include in your ceremony. But more and more couples are choosing a different entrance for their wedding, for a variety of reasons.

One of the most unique wedding processionals I’ve seen was the bride who wanted to be escorted by her brother and sister-in-law and their two young daughters. Her parents had died years ago, and her brother and his family were truly her family. She spent lots of time with them, had a special bond with her nieces, and was very close to her brother and his wife. It made perfect sense for this group to escort her to her groom.

Speaking of children, I’ve seen many children of all ages and genders escort their moms into the ceremony space. This demonstrates a special level of support for the new marriage, and trust in the groom as a new, blended family is formed.

Recently I’ve been having more brides who want to enter without an escort. This occurs and makes sense for a number of reasons. In some cases the bride is established professionally and personally and doesn’t like the appearance of being “given away” by her parents. Other times the bride doesn’t currently or possibly has never had a relationship with her father and wishes to be authentic and enter alone. Sadly, sometimes the bride’s father has died and she doesn’t wish to have anyone “stand in” for him, and so chooses to honor him by entering alone.

A lovely option I’ve seen couples choose is to enter together. Some view this as authentic if they’ve been together a long time. Others use it as a statement of love and commitment. This option can also be chosen if the bride’s dad isn’t available for whatever reason to escort his daughter.

Two final thoughts: First, grooms traditionally just appear at the front of the ceremony space. Most often these days, the groom escorts his parents to their seats and then joins the celebrant in front. But children can escort their dad or he may choose to enter on his own, too. Second, same sex weddings have thrown lots of wedding traditions out the window. Couples choose all aspects of the ceremony including unique wedding processionals to match their personalities and reflect their relationship. How perfect.