Ceremony order?

[sunnyd]

Hiya!

This is for anyone who''s having a friend/family member perform your ceremony. Where did you get your info? I thought my sister wrote everything already, turns out she just did the opening. So I''m looking for an order of stuff, I guess, then I''ll be looking for scripts to send her.

Ex: Opening, candle lighting, vows, rings, etc.

The stuff I found online was hard to navigate through, and you ladies know everything, so I look to you for guidance! LOL... Thank you!!

 

[Octavia]

We wrote our ceremony, and the order was basically:
Opening words
Blessing by family and friends
Declaration of intent
Vows
Rings
Officiant''s speech about us/marriage
Pronouncement of us as husband and wife

I don''t think it has to be in that order, though, so if it feels more natural for you to do things in a different order, go for it! I think that all you actually need is proof of intent by the couple to be married and pronouncement of marriage by someone qualified to solemnize it (and maybe in some places, the opportunity for people to object? not sure about that, but we definitely didn''t need that part)...other than that, you can pretty much do what you want.

 

[rhbgirl24]

We did our own as well, although an officiant will be performing it.

Opening/Welcome
Remembrance (for those passed)
Hand-fasting
Exchanging of the vows and rings
Unity Candle
Pronouncement of Marriage
Presentation of couple

 

[zipzapgirl]

I used this book to write our ceremony and it worked out beautifully. It has religious, secular, romantic, practical and even a couple of slightly off the wall bits of script you can use to paste together your ceremony. We picked the pieces we liked, edited them for our purposes, and added some songs and readings. It walks you through the process and makes practical suggestions. It was actually written to help officiants construct ceremonies. Highly recommended!

The Wedding Ceremony Planner
http://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Ceremony-Planner-Essential-Important/dp/1402203438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255614800&sr=1-1

Our program went like this

Prelude (music)
Formal Seating
Processional
Welcome
Marriage Address (basically, talk about what marriage is and means)
First Reading - i Corinthians 13
Lighting of the Unity Candle
Second Reading - Love One Another by Khalil Gibran
Exchange of Vows and Rings
Pronoucement of Marriage
Recessional


One thing we read and found to be true is that once you start the vows, that''s the high point. I wouldn''t throw in any songs or anything afterwards. At that point you are ready to kiss and head off!

 

[sunnyd]

Thanks girls! That helped a lot. Zipza, I might check out that book if we get really stuck, thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Rock_of_Love]

I just ordered that book!! I''m in a similar situation and it looks like it will really help!!