The cocktail hour is a time for guests to enjoy a beverage or two, some hors d'oeuvres, and conversation, but it also serves as a buffer between the wedding ceremony and reception. This is particularly important if your ceremony and reception are taking place at different locations, as it allows some time for your guests to travel between venues (you may want to bump your cocktail hour time up to 90 minutes if the two venues are some distance apart). And, if the ceremony and reception are taking place in the same room, the cocktail hour allows the venue staff time to restage the space. Many newlyweds opt to take their portraits during cocktail hour, but you can also take photos before the ceremony if you're okay doing your "first look" then.
Order Of Service For Wedding Ceremony Program
The wedding vows provide the couple with a great opportunity to add a personal touch to the ceremony. Couples may choose to write their own vows to each other, exchange how they first met and reflect on their relationship or use the traditional phrasing guided by the officiant. This is your opportunity to make a special promise to your love, so plan how you wish to express this feeling in advance.
If you have a smaller guest list or want a more intimate celebration, check out these inspiring backyard wedding ideas. As the night draws to a close, have your guests participate in a unique wedding send-off idea to match the theme of your wedding. Regardless of how you choose to execute your ceremony and reception, it is sure to be a day that you and your partner cherish for the rest of your lives.
From the moment the guests arrive and take their seats to the exit strategy for everyone involved, a wedding ceremony requires a fair amount of choreography in order to run smoothly. One way to ensure your day goes as well as possible is by creating a wedding ceremony outline. Here, we walk you through the basic timeline before breaking it down into the specifics for some of the most popular types of ceremonies: Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, and nondenominational. Of course, you may choose to conduct your ceremony in a different way (after all, it's your big day!), but be sure to ask the officiant if they are amenable to changes before finalizing your plans.
The first order of business at any ceremony is quite natural: guiding guests to their seats. Have your ushers start escorting guests up to 30 to 45 minutes before the ceremony begins. This can be timed to coincide with the music start time or the arrival of transportation. Ushers should assign places as the guests arrive, from front rows to back, with the exception of the parents and any special guests for whom seats are reserved.
At a traditional Christian wedding or a large civil ceremony, the bride's family and friends are seated on the left and the groom's on the right. At a traditional Jewish wedding, the bride's side is on the right and the groom's is on the left. Mark off the first few rows with flowers or ribbon as seating for immediate family and special guests (such as the flower girl's and ring bearer's parents, someone giving a reading, and close relatives). Ask divorced parents how they'd like to be seated during the ceremony. They may choose to sit together in the front row, but if one or both parents are remarried, or your parents are not on good terms, consider asking one to sit in the first row and the other immediately behind them in the second.
The final guests to be seated at Christian ceremonies are, in this order: grandparents, mother of the groom (with father walking just behind), and mother of the bride. At Jewish ceremonies, the parents enter with the bride and stand under the chuppah during the ceremony; stepparents may sit in the aisle seats in the second and third rows or stand under the chuppah if they are very close to the bride or groom.
Couples having civil ceremonies can customize to their preferences or circumstances. For example, some same-sex couples might choose to process together, from either side of the venue or one after the other, either escorted by a parent or not. It's also important to note that a Jewish wedding procession is largely the same as a processional for a Christian service, except that grandparents, the groom's parents, and the bride's mother all join the processional. The rabbi and the cantor often lead it.
Here is the typical sequence of a Catholic wedding without Mass. At the bottom of this page, you'll findsome notes for using this chart, as well as links to the order for alternate forms of The Order of Celebrating Matrimony.
Outline of a wedding between a Catholic and an unbaptized personA step-by-step walk through the complete order of a wedding between a Catholic and someone who has not been baptized as a Christian (a Catechumen or a non-Christian)
Order of a wedding between a Catholic and an unbaptized personA step-by-step walk through the complete order of a wedding between a Catholic and someone who has not been baptized as a Christian.
Thank you for coming to our wedding celebration. It means a great deal to us that you are witnesses to our marriage vows. The Priest will signal when to sit and stand and this program will serve as a guide to the order of the service. We encourage you to listen, pray, and sing. All music can found in the Breaking Bread hymnal, located in the pews. In order to respect the dignity of the ceremony, we ask that there is no flash photography during the service. Additionally, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices.
The inside pages of our template outline the Catholic ceremony order. In parentheses, it shares when to sit or stand and also includes how to respond if necessary (for the readings, gospel, prayers of the faithful, etc.). We based the order on other Catholic Wedding Ceremony programs we found online. In the free template, there is space for you to customize with the readings and songs you use in your ceremony.
google_ad_client="ca-pub-7189318764565636";google_ad_slot="0730269524";google_ad_width=468;google_ad_height=60;google_ad_client="pub-7189318764565636";google_ad_slot="8621070472";google_ad_width=300;google_ad_height=250;Designing the wedding ceremony within the church setting, is a recent development for many modern couples. The ceremony order of events may differ according to the size of the bridal party, the customs or the imagination of the wedding planner. Some couples begin the ceremony by lighting a unity candle or candelabra. Although, customising the wedding vows or other aspects of the ceremony may add special meaning to your wedding day. It is still advisable to check with your priest or marriage celebrant for the propriety of the changes.
The wedding program or ceremony outline is usually given to guests at church weddings. The wedding program has the names of the bride and groom and the date and name of the church. The program needs the approval of the priest or minister before printing and should have all aspects of the service, such as readings, hymns and music.
The wedding usher/s are the first to arrive, around 30-45 minutes before the wedding ceremony. They stand outside the church, greeting and directing the early guests to the appropriate seating arrangements and handing out programs or service notes and boutonnières for guests. The ceremony usher often doubles up as Groomsmen up-until the ceremony starts.
The Matron of honour and bridesmaids arrive with the bride just before the start of the ceremony and stand at the entrance of the church – they meet up with the groomsmen. The bridal party wait outside the entrance. There should be at least one of the wedding ushers outside the entrance, at this stage all guests have arrived. If the wedding usher is also doubling up as a groomsmen, he takes his place with the other groomsmen – his role as usher has been completed and now takes his role as groomsmen.
You may choose to have a receiving line after the wedding ceremony. If not, your guests and friends can mingle after the ceremony, leaving a receiving line at the reception instead.However if you do want a receiving line after your ceremony, ask your church for their permission first. There may be another wedding ceremony directly after yours and you may be required to leave the premises quickly.
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Marriage without a Mass is a valid Catholic wedding. It is also still a sacrament because the bride and groom are both baptized. (For the ceremony used when a Catholic marries an unbaptized person, see The Order of Celebrating Matrimony between a Catholic and a Catechumen or a Non-Christian.) The main difference is that there is no Liturgy of the Eucharist. Yet if two Catholics decide to use this form, and the ceremony is presided over by a deacon because a priest is not available for Mass, a Communion service may, under certain circumstances and in accord with the policy of the local diocese, be integrated into it. 2ff7e9595c
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