ceremony

Honored Guests: Helpful Ceremony Preparation Tips

 in Ceremony / Guests / Weddings  tagged ceremony / guests / wedding / wedding ceremony / wedding guests by

Honored guests at a wedding ceremony include grandparents and other immediate family members who are not in your wedding party, along with readers and any other ceremony participants. There are a few ceremony preparations that can ensure these important people in your life feel respected, remembered and special on your wedding day.

First, as you’re placing your floral order, consider which of these people should receive a boutonniere or corsage. This simple but very visible sign marks them as honored guests throughout the entire day.

Next, create a space plan for your honored guests. Lay out the first few rows of your ceremony venue, ensuring a reserved seat for each of these people. You’ll want to mark the reserved area (on both sides of the aisle) with signs or some other indicator of the reserved area. Alternately, you can create individual name tags that can be affixed to each chair. If you opt for this approach, ensure that the ink on the tags will not rub off on clothing, ruining special attire.

With the spaces reserved, the final step is to ensure that your honored guests land in those seats. You’ll want to communicate to them ahead of time (this is a great task to delegate to mothers or other trusted people) so the family members know to look for their seats or identify themselves to the ushers.

Speaking of ushers, they should have a written list or map of the honored guests and where you want them seated. When the guests arrive, even if the rest of the guests are informally seating themselves, the honored guests should be escorted to their reserved seats. This is a bit of special treatment that again will make them feel remembered and respected.

With a little thought and preparation your honored guests will feel special and appreciated as they share in your wedding day. Make sure to get some photos with these folks, too. They make a great keepsake for them and for you.

Change Happens

 in Ceremony / Weddings  tagged ceremony / wedding ceremony / wedding changes / weddings by

Change happens, in life and in wedding planning. There are so many moving parts when planning a wedding day that something is bound to change. That’s normal and OK… if you actively manage the change when it happens.

I’ve seen two different couples handle change very differently, one successfully, and one not so successfully. In the first case, the couple moved the time for their ceremony out 90 minutes, and didn’t let me know. The Ceremony Agreement we had all signed stated one start time, and their invitations went out with a time listed that was 90 minutes later. By the time I found out about the change – from the venue manager, because the couple never contacted me about needing to change the time – I had booked an event with another couple in a nearby town for later that day and could not perform the wedding at the later time.

The second couple shows how a similar situation should be handled when change happens. In this case, shortly after booking my services with a stated ceremony start time in the Ceremony Agreement, the bride decided the day would flow better if the ceremony started 30 minutes later than first planned. She contacted me to ask if I could accommodate the change, and I assured her I could. She asked me not to change anything yet, as she wanted to ensure that the new time would work with her other vendors – photographer, musicians, florist, and of course, the venue. Once everyone confirmed their ability to handle the change, she confirmed the new ceremony start time with all of us. We’re all working to the new time, and because the change was made early enough in the planning process and communicated well with all impacted vendors, I expect that all will be well come her September wedding day.

Weddings are complex events with many moving parts and involving many people, so it’s not surprising when change happens. It also doesn’t have to be problematic when change happens if you take the time to consider who all will be impacted by the change and communicate with them as early as possible. Staying relaxed and thoughtful when dealing with changes will help ensure that your wedding day comes together the way you envision it.

Puppy Love on Your Wedding Day

 in Ceremony / Personalization  tagged ceremony / dog / ring dog / wedding / wedding dog by

Including some puppy love on your wedding day is another way to make the day truly yours and to share your love with those most important to you. If you have a special pooch in your world you likely will want to include them in your day in some special way. Depending on your dog’s personality and the day you have planned, there are a number of ways to include Fido in the festivities.

The simplest way to include your beloved pet in your wedding day is to have them captured in your pictures. Your photographer can work with you to capture special loving moments for the three of you, and the pooch can be in the formal portraits, too.

Another favorite role for pets is as ring dogs. They can be part of the processional or make a special entrance with the rings firmly attached to their collar. After delivering the rings, they can be kept to the side with a handler they know, or can be removed from the ceremony space.

I’ve even had a dog enter with the groom and sit by his side for the entire ceremony. There was no doubt that this dog was the couple’s best friend. She had been through extensive training and sat placidly next to them, focused on the sound of their voices during the vows, and joining them for the recessional, too.

Here’s a link to a good article offering tips on how to include your dog in your wedding day. I know many owners feel their dogs are well trained, but I highly recommend having the dogs leashed while they participate in your wedding day. You can never know how the dogs will react to large crowds of strangers, all the hugs that they could misinterpret as aggressive moves on their owners, or the random rabbit that they may chase after at an outdoor wedding. It’s also important to be aware that some people are frightened of animals or may be highly allergic. If your pet isn’t contained, they may be so uncomfortable that they need to leave the festivities early.

Puppy love on your wedding day can make it even more special and memorable for you, and if you take care to consider your pet’s and your guests’ needs, your much loved animals can be a great addition to your day.

Interesting Wedding Venue Discovery

 in Venue / Weddings  tagged ceremony / wedding / wedding venue by

I discovered an interesting wedding venue in our region last week. While waiting for our dinner cruise to leave the dock in Stillwater, MN I watched guests, the wedding party and finally the bride and groom board the boat next to ours. The sleek, three deck boat was the site for an elegant, all white wedding!

An interesting wedding venue can be great fun, but also requires extra planning and coordination to make sure everything comes together as you envision. Here are a few things to consider:
1. You and your guests will be “captive” on the boat, so it is imperative that everyone arrive on time and can stay for the duration of the event. This may be a good time to plan for a social hour before leaving the dock to allow any late arrivals a chance of joining in the festivities. On the other hand, there are no options for early departures so everyone will have to plan accordingly (think babysitters or on call situations).

2. You will need to discuss with the boat’s owner what is allowed. For example, do they provide catering, cake, music, tables and chairs, bar supplies and bartenders, wait staff? What are you allowed bring on board? Flowers, your own DJ and sound equipment? Do they provide any event coordination services? Are you required to use them, and at what cost? What is included in boat rental fees, and what is billed additionally?

3. Your vendors will have to ensure timely and complete deliveries. They will need to know how early they will have access to the boat so they can plan accordingly. They will also need to know about the distance from parking to the boat so they can arrange for any equipment needed (dollies, carts, etc) to get equipment and supplies on board.

4. Space for dressing, hair and make-up will have to be explored. It is very possible that you will need to arrive ready to walk down the aisle with all services completed on land. On a related note, how do you feel about being seen by your guests before you enter for the ceremony? It may be hard to sneak down the dock and onto the boat without being seen by your guests.

5. And finally, but very importantly, where will the marriage legalities take place? You will need to identify a location address, city and county on your marriage license, so make sure you understand how that will work. The boat we were on moved past a few cities, crossed a couple of county lines and floated between two states. And there wasn’t a mailing address for the middle of the river. The easiest thing to do might be to take care of the legalities (the “I do’s” and certificate signing) with your two witnesses and officiant before departing so you can claim the dock address. Then you can have your full ceremony in front of your guests whenever it works for your schedule.

From my vantage point it looked like a great celebration was about to get underway on the Majestic Star last weekend. Guests arrived decked out in pure white – shoes, pants, shirts, coats, and dresses – making everyone part of the party from the very first moment. The dock seemed to serve as an extension of the aisle, with the bride and groom arriving last, to the cheers of their guests waiting on board. The mood was festive, the waters calm, and the interesting wedding venue ensured a special experience awaited.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

 in Ceremony / Uncategorized / Weddings  tagged ceremony / rain / wedding / wedding rain by

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. That children’s rhyme is every couples’ wish as their wedding day approaches. But no amount of planning and hoping is going influence the weather, so we must have plans that allow the wedding day to proceed gracefully, even when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

Weather has already been a significant issue with ceremonies this year. Multiple April snowstorms caused many couples to scramble. Weather has been a significant factor in all three of the last ceremonies I officiated. One ceremony was moved into an air conditioned space due to high heat, one was moved indoors due to rain, and for one we braved the high heat and humidity, keeping the ceremony outdoors as planned, but it was awfully uncomfortable.

It seems our weather is getting more unpredictable year to year, with high heat, strong storms and rain caused by unstable systems happening more frequently. Occasionally a couple tells me, “If it rains, people just need to bring umbrellas.” That’s not a practical response if the rain is wind driven, or if lightning is involved. It’s not reasonable to expect people to sit on wet chairs. Electrical sound equipment or valuable instruments cannot be used in wet conditions. Unity ritual props will be ruined sitting in the rain. And do you really want to spend the rest of the day in sodden clothes?

While a sun-dappled ceremony with a light breeze blowing in 72 degree weather may be your dream, it really is essential that you have a plan in place in case of inclement weather. Many reception facilities offer an indoor ceremony alternative these days. Make sure that you know when you will need to make the decision about an indoor or outdoor ceremony, and be ready to do so.

Indoor ceremonies in climate controlled spaces allow you and your guests to be comfortable, to focus on the significance of the moment, and to be ready to celebrate all day long. So if the rain (or heat or snow) comes, go ahead and sing, “Rain, rain, go away…” but be ready with a great indoor alternative and you’ll have great memories of your ceremony and your day.