One of the surefire ways to leave a personal touch on your wedding is by owning the wedding ceremony outline. But this is where the problem starts, with questions like what do you add and what do you leave out? You want to make sure that, regardless of your wedding type, the marriage ceremony outline is a socially acceptable one. And that, the wedding ceremony timeline reflects the wishes of you as a couple, so it becomes a daunting task.
So here’s the thing, we have come up with a basic simple wedding ceremony outline in complete wedding packages to help guide you. We’ve arranged it according to the wedding order of events to make the job easier. What you’ll find in this order of wedding ceremony are the aspects that cannot be switched, removed or compromised.
From the welcome address to the wedding sermons and readings, and down to the first kiss, in that order. This wedding outline can be adapted for religious, traditional, causal, non-religious and non-traditional weddings. Take this template of wedding ceremony timeline, fill it in and build it to your taste, then go have fun.
#1 The wedding welcome and officiant address
This happens at the start of the wedding. Once the officiant, wedding party and couple are quite done with the procession, the guests take their seats. The officiant takes the podium and welcomes everyone. The officiant thank them for honoring the couple on their wedding and end it there. The officiant may also choose to prolong it by talking about the couple, and their love. The officiant may take a short reading and emphasize on the importance and significance of marriage. The welcome and address could last between two to ten minutes, depending on how much time allotted.
#2 Wedding Readings
Wedding reading is a very special part of the wedding. This is asides the wedding vows and exchange of rings. We say it’s very special because everything said at this point is a reflection of your relationship. It stresses on the depth of your love and what love means to you as a couple. One place to personalize asides your wedding vows. Readings come right after the welcome address but can be quite interspersed at various points of the ceremony. Although, this depends on how many readings you want to be read at your wedding. You can source them from your favorite books, movies, songs, holy and traditional books. Or like your vows, you can write your readings.
#3 The vow sayings
Vows are not mere words, they are a representation of your heart. They are deep promises you make under oath and intend to keep. This is one special aspect of the wedding that can never go missing. Your wedding vows must be thoughtful with deep meanings that resonate with your partner. You can borrow traditional, religious or secular vows, and that’s okay. But there’s no greater feeling than writing your own vows and surprising your spouse at the altar. It’s heartfelt, sincere, and a perfect portrayal of your promises.
#4 Exchange of rings
After your wedding vows comes the final cuff which is the wedding ring. Once the ring goes on, it becomes definite. A symbol of all the promises you’ve made to each other. It is also symbolic to acceptance of your spouse as your partner for life. So this procedure is heralded by a confession of both the bride and groom. This confession goes along the line of “I take you to be my…” It becomes a legal binding oath through word of mouth and must not be taken lightly.
#5 The pronouncement
Once there’s acceptance on both sides under oath with guests as witnesses, and rings binding next is the pronouncement. But before that, some officiants might choose to exhort or admonish the couple and guests alike. The officiant will tell the couple to remain in love, understanding each other. The officiant will enlighten the couple on the journey ahead and give potential recipes to a successful marriage.
They will also ask the guests to support the couple and go home with love in their hearts. Another reading or wedding sermon may come up at this point. This can take all of ten to twenty minutes, depending on the time given. In the absence of all these, the officiant pronounces the newlyweds as a legal couple.
#6 The first kiss
This is the most anticipated time in the wedding order of events. The first lip lock by the new couple. After this is the recession, and if there’s a reception, off you go!
This is a basic wedding ceremony outline, containing a patterned wedding ceremony order. Fill in your ceremony wishes with this template.
