What to include in your wedding ceremony

You may be wondering what to include in your wedding ceremony. Totally understandable! It’s likely that you’ve never been in the situation of planning a wedding ceremony. There are a few things that are legally required, but there are multiple ways to personalize your ceremony.

Processional

A wedding processional is the piece of your wedding before the actual ceremony begins. This usually involves your wedding party, family members, and the couple walking. Most often, the processional goes in this order:

• Your officiant – they either walk down the aisle or are already standing at the top of the aisle.
• The groom – the groom often walks alone or with their mother
• Family members – this is most often family members like grandparents, moms, etc.
• Wedding party – many people have a bridesmaid and groomsman walking together, but we’ve seen a trend of new creations to this!
• The ring bearer and flower girl – this doesn’t have to be a young child – we often see grandmas, close family members, beer boys, etc. So many ways to incorporate a fun moment!
• The bride and her father – this is what we most commonly see, but you can walk alone, with your sibling, or another option! This is another way for you to fully curate and personalize your ceremony.

Welcome + Introduction

Your officiant will say a few words of welcome. They may thank your guests for coming, or tell a little bit of your love story and thoughts on marriage.

Readings

While we have personally seen readings not happening as often, they are still a beautiful way to incorporate something sweet. Our favorite readings are those where the couple asks a close friend or family member to find something to read. Instead of giving them something, this gives them the opportunity to find something that represents your story and they feel a connection to.

A fun alternative we’ve seen is a meditation minute. Instead of having readings, the bride led a moment of meditation. The intention was to regulate emotions and provide a moment of calm.

Exchanging of vows

Your officiant should provide a seamless transition to the reading of the vows. They usually explain what vows are and the meaning behind them.

Many couples have a moment of confusion here on what to include in the wedding ceremony. Should we write our own vows? Should we use traditional vows? While we at Daisy + Sun EventsF believe that personal vows are beautiful, we get it if you’re not interested! A sweet alternative to reading your vows publicly is to read them during your first look or first touch.

Ring Exchange

Your officiant will read a sweet tale of the meaning behind wedding bands. After that, you will be asked to exchange your bands.

World tip – put your engagement ring on your right hand. After you put your wedding band on, slide your engagement ring on your left hand on top of the wedding band.

Unity Ceremony

This is one of the best ways to personalize your wedding ceremony. We’ve seen unity shotskis, candles, sand mixing, branding a cow skin, etc. Again, this is an amazing way to incorporate something fun or meaningful into your ceremony!

First married kiss!

Seal your marriage with a kiss!

Closing

Your officiant will say some kind of closing remark.

The Recessional

Now it’s time for you and your wedding party to jolt down the aisle one more time! Starting with the wedding couple and then moving into wedding party. Make sure your maid of honor remembers to hand back your bouquet and get going!

Quick tip – halfway down the aisle, have another kiss! Maybe a dip or something else!

While every ceremony can be ran differently depending on traditions and religion, this is the ceremony type we most commonly see.

Congratulations! If you’re looking for a planner or coordinator to help you figure out allll the details, feel free to connect with us through our contact form!