On
Your Walk Down The Aisle
By
the time you attend your Wedding Rehearsal,
all the main planning for the ceremony should
be completed.
You
would be wise to prepare printed instructions
for the wedding party outlining each person's
individual responsibilities. As you prepare
these instructions, logistical problems and
forgotten items will come to light. If you then
deal with these oversights, you will have fewer
headaches at the rehearsal. (Don't forget to
save these instructions for your wedding
memorabilia album.)
At the Wedding Rehearsal, you will run through
the service as you have planned it, and you
will then see if any areas still need to be
tweaked.
With
a little thought beforehand, you can assure
that your walk down the aisle goes without incident.
A
detailed checklist is available on The Adaptable
Wedding Planner CD, but here are a few things
to think about:
- Officiant
Fee
Has the Groom made out a check for the Officiant?
Normally, the Best Man hands the Officiant
a sealed envelope with his fee enclosed.
The Groom must provide this envelope to
the Best Man.
- Rings
Have you arranged when to hand over the
rings to the Best Man and the Maid of Honor
so that they are prepared before the ceremony?
1. Usually, the Best Man hands the Bride's
wedding ring to the Groom during the ceremony.
2. Usually, the Maid or Matron of Honor
hands the Groom's wedding ring to the Bride
during the ceremony.
3. In a Jewish wedding, the Maid of Honor
also holds the Bride's engagement ring during
the ceremony.
- Other
items to turn over to your helpers
1. Programs.
2. Marriage License.
3. Music CDs or
Sheet Music.
4. Unity
Candle, other candles or sand
ceremony kit.
5. Prayer
Book.
6. Guest Book and Pen.
7. Printed driving directions to the reception
location.
8. Jewish wedding: A white napkin, glass
(you can use a light bulb,) kosher wine,
goblets,
talis for the huppah, Ketubah,
box of yarmulkes, etc.
- Music
1. Will you have a piano, organ, choir,
or someone playing CDs for you?
2. What music selections will you choose?
3. You will need different tempos for each
part of the ceremony.
4. How many music selections will you need?
This will depend upon
-
How long you plan to allow for seating
the guests - usually 20 - 30 minutes.
- How
many attendants will be walking down
the aisle.
- You
may also want to have a receiving line
directly following the ceremony and
you will want music to be played in
the background.
5.
Have you purchased the CDs or purchased
the sheet music for the piano player?
6. Who is in charge of setting up the
music and deciding when the music should
start?
-
Readings
1. Will you have any readings?
2. If so, have you checked whether your
readers are prepared?
-
Vows
1. Do you want to include your own vows?
2. Have you chosen and memorized them?
3. Have you made a copy that your Maid of
Honor can carry for you in case your mind
goes blank?
-
Unity
Candle
1. Do you want one?
2. Have you planned the timing for lighting
it?
3. Usually the mothers of the Bride and
Groom light candles. However, there are
many reasons for lighting candles - from
including children in the ceremony of a
second marriage to remembering a lost parent
or grandparent. You have many options. Explore
them and decide what feels comfortable for
you.
-
Guest
Book Attendant
1. Have you decided where the attendant
should sit and has a table and chair been
provided?
2. When should the attendant close the book?
3. Since the book is usually closed just
prior to the start of the ceremony, have
you arranged to save a seat at the ceremony
for the attendant?
-
Ushers
These people have many responsibilities
- have you allocated assignments among them?
The Ushers seat the guests, escort the mothers
of the bride and groom to their seats, lay
the aisle runner in place and later pull
it up again. The Ushers also provide for
an orderly exit after the ceremony is over.
If necessary, the Ushers give directions
from the ceremony location to the reception
location. Have you provided them with maps?
Sometimes,
the Ushers are also the Groomsmen. If so,
you will need to work out the logistics,
so that, after the seating is done and the
runner has been put in place, the Ushers
can take their places, as Groomsmen, near
to the Groom.
-
Flower
girl/Ring Bearer/Page Boy/Train-bearer
They carry a basket of petals or carry the
rings on a cushion. They may walk behind
the Bride carrying the Bride's train.
1. Will they walk down just ahead of you?
Have they practiced? Have you thought about
what the Flower Girl's reaction would be
if the petals were all dropped by the time
she got half way down the aisle? Or what
the Ring Bearer would do if he dropped the
pillow?
2. Decide where the mother or other adult
will be seated, usually in an aisle seat,
and explain the location to the tot, so
that he or she knows how to duck out if
confusion or panic dictates an exit.
3. Assign someone to take them to the bathroom
about five minutes before making their entrance.
4. Decide who will take charge of the basket
of petals or pillow until just before the
walk?
5. Do you really want the wedding rings
on the pillow? They could get lost. Fake
ones are a good option. If you want the
real ones on the pillow, you need to secure
them firmly to the pillow in such a way
that they can be easily removed when needed.
6. If the children are too young to stand
quietly during the ceremony, arrange for
them to sit
in a front row during the ceremony. They
can join the wedding party again as the
recessional begins.
-
Receiving
Line
Will you have one? If so, will it be directly
after the ceremony or before your guests
enter the main room for the reception.
|
