Daily Archives: March 10, 2008

6 Steps for the perfect rehearsal

Posted on March 10, 2008 | Leave a comment


Step One — Everyone in Place:
Line up the wedding party where they will be standing for the wedding ceremony.
Groom and his attendants on Officiant’s left
Bride and her attendants on Officiant’s right
The Bride and Groom face each other
The Ring Bearer in front of the Groom’s attendants
Flower Girl(s) in front of the Bride’s attendants

Step Two — Practice the Recessional:
Who is leaving first, who is going where.

Step Three — Seating the Guests:
The ushers seat the family and honored guests at the announced time of the wedding.
Suggested order for special guests:
Grandparents of the groom
Grandparents of the bride
Parents of the groom
Mother of the bride

Step Four – Processional:
Now the bridal party goes to the places from where they will enter on the wedding day. Groom and his attendants go to the side (stage left, Officiant’s left side). The Bride and her attendants go to the back of the hall.
Wedding party enters and takes places where they were in Step One.

Step Five – Ceremony:
Officiant may ask “Who brings her here on this happy day of her life?” or “Who brings this woman to marry this man?” The person or persons escorting the bride usually say: “I do”, …

“We do”, or “On behalf of all who love her, I do”.
Bride’s escort takes seat in first row

Officiant Performs the Ceremony
The rings should be either on the Ring bearer’s pillow or in the custody of the Best Man and Maid/Matron of Honor.


Step Six — Practice Recessional again:

If you follow these guidelines, even print them out for the wedding party, everyone will know what they have to do and it saves confusion on the day of the wedding.
Practicing takes the stress out for all involved, and hopefully helps your wedding go smoother.


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Keeping the rings safe…

Posted on March 10, 2008 | Leave a comment

The rings should be either on the Ring bearer’s pillow or in the custody of the Best Man and Maid/Matron of Honor. If carried by the two “best people,” the Best Man should carry the Bride’s ring on his little finger, and the Maid of Honor should carry the Groom’s ring on her index finger or thumb. Don’t let the Best Man put the ring in any pocket. Don’t have either one of them carry the ring in a bag or box. Pockets, bags & boxes increase the chances for dropping and/or losing the ring. Of every 10 rings misplaced or lost at wedding time, 8 have been lost by the Maid of Honor. She has a big ring you have asked her to put on her relatively small finger. For Maid of Honor and Best Man, have them put the ring on a finger, and then curl their fingers. Then the ring isn’t going anywhere. If rings are on the Ring bearer’s pillow, the Best Man will remove them and give them to the Officiant one at a time with the Bride’s ring first; or deliver both at the same time, at the option of the Officiant.

Remember that if you are to have small children carrying the rings for you, practice is the key. They will not always understand that they have to give up the rings, especially as they were probably instructed to guard them carefully!
If you think the child will have difficulty, have the best man keep the real rings in his pocket and the child can carry dummy rings to relinquish to the officiant/best man as desired.
You don’t want them upset, and it’s very stressful to be centre stage at a tender age.
Decide whether you are removing the rings from the pillow, or taking the whole pillow, because you need to know where you are going to put it once you have it. Small things are often overlooked in the arrangements.

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Posted in brides, ceremonies, getting married, grooms, marriage, officiant, wedding, wedding day

Fighting those wedding day jitters….

Posted on March 10, 2008 | 1 Comment

The importance of rehearsals

Most weddings follow the same basic outline, but can be varied to suit the needs and wishes of the parties involved, the space you are working with and the time you want to spend on the ceremony.
BASIC CEREMONY
Here is a rough outline for a traditional 5-part Ceremony, that I give to all my couples to help them get a feel for what to expect.
1.) WELCOME
2.) PRESENTATIONS
3.) VOWS
4.) RINGS
5.) CLOSING
Things I need to know as the officiant.
Are you walking down the aisle to your groom?
If so, who is walking you, are you having an ‘who gives this woman’ in your ceremony?
Do you want the officiant to walk down the aisle, or to be waiting at the altar?
What are the groom’s duties en route to the altar?
Are the ushers/groomsmen/groom having to seat anyone? Mothers?
Where will your flower girl/ring bearer go once they reach the altar?
Are there to be readings, poems, presentations, if so by whom, to whom and when?
Do I know your plans?

The Rehearsal

About the Rehearsal:
Everyone should make an effort to be at the rehearsal. It gives you an idea of what the actual space will allow you to do. For instance if your dress has a train that is several feet long, the spacing needs to be adjusted so that no-one stands on it. If the bridesmaids have big gown skirting, there needs to be enough space at the altar that allows them to stand without crushing each other. If you have standing room for 6 at the altar, don’t plan on 12 in the wedding party!

Absences:
If you know that someone cannot attend the rehearsal, appoint a stand-in who will participate in the rehearsal and get them to take notes and pass them on to the person taking part in the ceremony. That way, you don’t have that one lost person on the big day.

Wedding Coordinator:
If you have decided not to hire a wedding coordinator, nominate a member of your family who is NOT in the processional to stand with the bridal party and cue them to move down the aisle at the appropriate times. It’s a good idea to include this person in the rehearsals also.

Bring Props:
Bring things with you like fake bouquets, the candles [positioning to not set your hair alight is a good thing] That way you can see what it feels like to try and hold flowers, your dress, the rings, your loved one’s hand and light a candle and speak vows all at the same time.

Children:
It’s much less scary if a child is kept informed of when, how and why. That way they know what they are supposed to do, they can get it wrong the first time and there should be no last minute nerves.

Scheduling:
Every single rehearsal includes a person that is late. Bank on it, and if you know who it is likely to be, tell them to arrive 15 minutes earlier than the actual time.

Take Care of Yourself:
Eat, sleep, drink plenty of water, don’t have vast amounts of alcohol the day before. The pictures will show you being tired and stressed, so we need you relaxed.

General Pre-Rehearsal Instructions:
Make sure everyone knows everyone else.
Introduce the bridal party to the Officiant.
Go through everything at least once or twice.
Provide snacks and drinks if the rehearsal is an hour or more inclusive of travel time. [little bottles of water and snack packs work well]
Bring matches.


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Hello world!

Posted on March 10, 2008 | Leave a comment

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

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