Civil Ceremony Wedding Processional Order
If you’re having a civil, non-religious, wedding ceremony, you can choose any processional order you want. If you don’t know where to begin, start with either of the above religious wedding ceremony orders, then add or change elements to create a customized order that works best for your own wedding.
Traditional Jewish Wedding Processional Order
Wedding Processional Order For A Traditional Hetero Christian Ceremony
OfficiantGrandparents of the GroomGrandparents of the Bride Parents of the GroomMother of the Bride Groomsmen Groom Bridesmaids Flower Girl and Ring BearerBride and Father of the Bride
At the altar, the groom and his groomsmen stand on the right side while the bride and her bridesmaids stand on the left, with the officiant in the center.
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Jewish Wedding Processional Order
Jewish wedding tradition is known for incorporating extended family into the ceremony, starting with the couples grandparents walking down the aisle, as well the parents positioning next to the bride and groom under the chuppah. A chuppah, which is a wedding canopy made of cloth and 4 poles, symbolizes a Jewish home.
A Guide To Your Wedding Processional Order
Most brides have seen enough rom-coms to know that the last person to walk down the aisle will typically be them. But when it comes to the rest of the wedding processional order, and who walks down when, it can all get quite confusing. Were here to help you with general guidelines for who walks first, who walks next, and who can walk together. Follow this tutorial for the wedding processional order and youre golden!
1. Mother of the Bride
Traditionally, the mother of the bride walks down the aisle first and then takes a seat in the first row to the left of the aisle . In Jewish weddings, its customary for the mother of the bride and the father of the bride to walk the bride down the aisle.
SEE MORE:Who Should Walk Down the Aisle First at Our Wedding?
2. Grandparents of the Bride
The brides grandparents can also begin the wedding processional, after which they will take a seat in the first row.
3. Grandparents of the Groom
The grooms grandparents will typically follow the brides grandparents, taking a side on the alternate side of the aisle.
4. Bridesmaids & Groomsmen
Bridesmaids and groomsmen can walk down separately, or you may pair them together. Though there is no set rule, many brides choose to pair up bridesmaids and groomsmen based on height and/or significance to the bride & groom. Once down the aisle, the groomsmen will line up at the altar next to the groom, and the bridesmaids next to the bride.
5. Best Man
6. Maid and/or Matron of Honor
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What Is The Traditional Order Of A Wedding Processional
After the groom has made his way to the altar, the bride and grooms immediate families will walk down the aisle to their seats . They can fly solo, walk arm in arm or be ushered down by friends or members of your extended family. Once theyre seated, the mother of the bride takes the right arm of the father of the groom and they walk in together and take their seats . If the minister or officiant isnt already at the altar, he will be the next person to walk down the aisle.
The bride takes her fathers right arm, holds her bouquet in her left hand and the bridesmaids, flower girls and page boys take their places behind the bride in pairs, usually with the youngest directly behind the bride. They process down the aisle towards the groom who takes a step forward to greet the bride. Once the bride is next to the groom, the brides father moves to the left side and the bride gives her bouquet to her maid of honour. The bridesmaids will take their place on the left side of the bride and be seated in the first row. If the bride has no attendants, her father takes her bouquet and either places it on the front pew or gives it to the brides mother. Some couples choose to go a different route for the order of a wedding processional and ask the bridesmaids, flower girls and page boys to enter the ceremony venue first, leaving the brides entrance and walk down the aisle as the grand finale of the processional. Keep in mind there is no “right way”, so choose what suits you best.
Wedding Processional Order Walkthrough For Every Couple
Choosing a wedding processional order sets the scene for your ceremony. Whether you choose to stick to tradition or create something unique, use this guide to help you plan.
Once you select the perfect place to get married, book your vendors, and choose your attendants, it is time to start hammering out the details of your ceremony. You will need to select the songs you want to be played when you walk down the aisle, the vows you and your partner will say, and the processional order of the ceremony.
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The Wedding Retinue At The Reception
The announced entrance of the members of the Wedding Retinue is an opportunity to introduce and properly acknowledge their presence. If you opt to have everyone seated directly, the introduction should take place before the banquet begins. Follow the previous sequence save for these people being the last instead: the Father of the Groom with the Mother of the Bride, and the Mother of the Groom with the Father of the Bride, and then the Bride and Groom.
Ring And Bible Bearer
Ring and Arrhae Bearer and if a Christian Wedding, a Bible Bearer, also sometimes accompanied by their mother or another elder. They take the third row, right side. Tradition dictates that the Best Man speaks with the Ring and Arrhae Bearers. This is to remind them of the important role they have to perform, and admonishing them to be in their best behavior during the wedding ceremony
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Traditional Christian Wedding Processional Order
Who Walks Down The Aisle
The flower girls, ring bearers, bridesmaids, groomsmen, or wedding party, the couple-to-be, and sometimes their parents, are often part of this procession.
In a Jewish wedding, the grandparents of the couple also walk down the aisle.
Catholic and Hindu weddings have strict processional rules, however, in non-denominational weddings, the processional guidelines tend to be a little more relaxed.
How Does a Wedding Processional Work?
Though the order varies between civil ceremonies and religious weddings , this is the order for the processional of a traditional wedding ceremony.
This is all assuming, of course, that youre:
In a church and,
Are a hetero couple getting married, and,
You even want to enter your wedding ceremony via a processional in the first place.
In many modern civil ceremonies, the processional can take the form of anything from a whistle to the assembled guests to signal that the formalities are about to get underway to a full-blown choreographed entrance and flash mob.
Brides, grooms, couples and kids arrive together, or on their own, with elegance and grace, or sometimes, fanfare and a helicopter arrival.
The sky is literally the limit!
Videos courtesy of Lifesketch Weddings
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Traditional Wedding Processional Order & How To Make It Your Own
November 30
First comes love, then comes walking down the aisle, then comes marriage! The brides walk down the aisle is always one of the highlights of a wedding day however, shes not the only one to take that walk during the ceremony. A few other important people, such as the officiant, groomsmen, bridesmaids and groom all make an appearance on the aisle before the bride makes her grand entrance. So, how should all of these people enter in the ceremony? Whether youre the traditional bride or the bride looking for alternates to break tradition, weve laid out both the traditional wedding processional as well as alternates to making it your own based off of wedding party and couple preference. Read on for all the details, as well as to get our perfectly curated playlist for walkin down the aisle and a downloadable worksheet to help you construct your ideal processional. Cheers!
Traditional Catholic Wedding Processional Order
For a Catholic wedding, the wedding party should enter the ceremony venue in the following order, with men on the right and women on the left when walking down the aisle together. At the altar, the groom and groomsmen stand on the right side while the bride and her bridesmaids stand on the left, with the priest positioned in the center.
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Want Out Of The Usual
The velvety white sand beach of Boracay, a perfect wedding venue.
These days, out-of-town and island weddings have become very popular. Topping the list of most popular destination wedding venues is Boracay, famous for its white sand ground through the centuries from an abundance of corals.
Able to accommodate weddings from the most lavish that require intensive planning, exacting preparations, and detailed execution to the very informal and intimate for a party of 6, Boracay is an ideal wedding destination.
Couples can opt to have the ceremony in a Church, on the beach, in a garden, or a hotel ballroom. The wedding reception can be as formal as a Russian service banquet, or a table for four, set with all the bells and whistles.
The only limit the island sets is the couples imagination and readiness to pay and they are ready to comply with some unusual requests, like a bonfire at the beach, which is banned because of its negative effect on the sand. A workaround to accommodate such a request is to use a huge metal basin to contain the fire and debris. If you want intricate ice carvings, some hotels have a walk-in freezer.
You’ll Need To Figure Out What Order Everyone Will Be Standing In
One of the toughest parts of planning the ceremony can be figuring out what order your bridal party should walk in and stand beside you.
While lots of thought goes into the planning of a wedding reception, the wedding ceremony can be tricky to figure out for a bride as well. After all, the wedding ceremony is the most important part of your big day it’s when you actually get married!
One of the toughest parts of planning the wedding ceremony can be figuring out the order of bridesmaids and groomsmen. Your bridal party should walk in and stand beside you, but how should the wedding processional be organized? This decision not only relates to aesthetics, but can also affect personal feelings within your wedding party. The more bridesmaids or groomsmen you have, the more complicated this can be for a bride and groom to break the news to their friends and family.
There is no right answer for how to order the processional of attendants at weddings, as it can really depend on the bride and groom, as well as their specific group of friends and situation while wedding planning and beyond. However, there are a few popular wedding processional ordering options for weddings that a bride and groom can choose from based on what fits best with your bridal party and personal preferences.
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Let No Camera Phones Mar The Wedding
Most weddings designate an official photographer and videographer who should be able to capture the beauty and solemnity of the entire wedding and reception. This will limit the overeager guests stepping in to take their souvenir snapshots.
Remember, there are no Take Twos. Better forewarn all guests that they can only take pictures in their seat, and please, no flash.
Most professional photographers and videographers have websites where sample shots and videos can be viewed and acquired, especially those that have not been chosen by the Bride and Groom for inclusion in their wedding album or edited out of their official video.
Jewish Wedding Ceremony Processional Order
A Jewish wedding ceremony is held beneath a chuppah. The couple will stand with the best man and maid of honor as well as their parents during the ceremony. Grandparents take seats in the front row after they walk down the aisle. Members of the wedding party can stand to the sides of the chuppah or they can be seated in the first row. Depending on the religious service of your wedding ceremony, a Jewish wedding processional order may vary slightly from the following:
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Catholic Wedding Ceremony Order
A Catholic ceremony is always held in a church. The Catholic Church believes that marriage, also known as the sacrament of matrimony, is a sacred covenant between the couple and God, and because God is present in the physical church, there is no other place to celebrate a blessed union. Outdoor Catholic wedding ceremonies just do not exist. Also, couples do not write their own vows, and the marriage rites are often part of a bigger Catholic mass.
Weddings In Boracay: The Wedding Processional Order
Weddings are the most well-attended event in the social lives of people the world over. For Filipinos, it is a must-see-and-be-seen event in order to reunite with family, relatives, and friends, who are mostly in the Wedding Processional. For weddings celebrated in Boracay, all the stops are pulled out, and no stone is left unturned in the preparations. Invariably, money is no object.
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One of the things unintentionally glossed over in the thick of preparations is the order of the Wedding Processional. This, in turn, prompts well-meaning guests and venue facilitators to scamper to put a semblance of order in the chaos of confusion. The more volunteers, the more directions, thus the more confusion and frustration.
The Order of Entrance in the Wedding Processional depends largely on several factors. These factors may include the type of ceremony or service , venue , and the couples preference, whether traditional or unconventional, formal or informal. What they are most comfortable with, and what makes them happy, takes precedence over anyone elses desires and preferences. It is their wedding.
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Catholic Wedding Processional Order
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A Catholic wedding processional order involves an entire crew of people walking down the aisle, depending on the arrangement of the party. In a Catholic wedding, the father aides the bride to the platform and gives them away only after taking the seat. The order of a Catholic wedding processional is:
The officiant leads the procession in the ceremony, marking the beginning of the wedding. This person usually stands at the center of the altar.
The grooms entrance is a bit different compared to the usual processional order. Here, the groom enters from a corner and stands at the right side of the platform.
The best man follows the groom and might hold the wedding rings. They also enter from the side and stand next to the groom.
- Groomsmen And Bridesmaids
In the Catholic style, the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle in pairs. Usually, the groomsmen stay on the right side, while the bridesmaids are on the left. They walk to the front of the altar and form a diagonal line so that the couple can be viewed well by the guests during the ceremony.
The maid of honor conducts a final check of the brides dress, veil, and makeup and walks solo. They stand beside the bride, specifically on their left side. The maid of honor also holds the bouquet for the bride during the rituals.
- Ring Bearer And Flower Girl
- The Bride Along With Father
