How to: Wedding Ceremony
These 10 tips ensure your wedding Ceremony is NOT BORING!
Don’t let your ceremony be a bore! When your FAVOURITE people arrive at your wedding, whatever it looks like, they will be buzzing. Harness your guests' energy and excitement, make them feel involved and give them a ceremony that will have them crying, laughing and saying that it was the best wedding ever!
I am going to share with you 10 things you can include in your ceremony to make it kick ass. WARNING: These inclusions CAN NOT be performed by the faint-hearted or those lacking in energy or experience. For these inclusions to work and not become FLOPS they must be performed by the cream of the cele crop! (AKA, me).
Pre-game chats and warm-up
Before you strut your stuff down the aisle, let me have a heart to heart with your guests. I will tell them their role, what to expect and let them get a feel for the tone of the ceremony. Building rapport between the Celebrant and guests is KEY to them participating and engaging with the ceremony (after all, if they like me they are more likely to laugh at my jokes…).
It's also a good idea to get their voices and bodies warmed up and comfortable. Sometimes I will have them do a big cheer, yell out who they think will cry first, and nominate someone to start a Mexican wave. I have been known to take a selfie with the guests before telling them to put their phones away or nominate someone to demonstrate the correct way to throw confetti. It’s a great way to let everyone know we’re about to get started, and it’s not going to be too serious or a snore. By the time you come in they are pumped! It also makes for some epic photos!
2. Make an Entrance!
We’ve all been to those ceremonies when one party is waiting up front to be joined by the other… don’t lie, you wondered ‘Omg, have they been stood up?” It can be awkies.
ALSO… personally I think it’s a little unfair that usually only one person makes the special entrance, so why not make it two? There’s heaps of options here:
You could both enter together (this works especially well if you’ve had a first look)
One person could conga line down the aisle with their I do crew and wait for the second (the crowd always loves this, huge party starter)
Have a few special people walk you down the aisle, these could be a bunch of family members or maybe all your wedding party.
I could introduce you and your wedding party and you strut down to your favourite tune
You could have a flower person or your wedding party could be the Flower Dudes.
3. Ring Warming
Way less corny than it sounds… promise. I say some nice words about how important each and every one of your guests are to you. I ask the guests to be part of the ceremony and part of the most tangible item that symbolises your marriage - the RINGS. We pass them around (don’t worry we WILL get them back) and each person makes a wish or hope for you as they hold them close. When you exchange them they are warmed by your nearest and dearest and you will have their wishes with you always - so special.
Another way to do this that will hit your guests right in the feels is having two people very dear to you (perhaps your mums, or grandpas) hold your rings while you read your personal vows to each other. Then they become the ring bearers. Another adorable photo op.
4. Witness Raffle
The only legal requirements for someone to be your legal witness is that they are over 18 and understand English. This means you can tell me before the day who you would like to have as your witnesses ORRRR (in form resembling that of Oprah) we can select two WINNERS from your guests to be your legal witnesses. AND Yes, we can definitely rig this process…
I’ll ask you to pull a name out of a hat and then the PRIVILEGED winners can strut their stuff down the aisle to sign their names on your documents and make it official! An honour worth cheering for in my experience…
5. Special pronouncement
Legally, I do not legally have to be the one to pronounce you as MARRIED at the end of your ceremony, this is an honour we can bestow on any one of your guests. Maybe we ask the person who introduced you, maybe all your guests, maybe your kids! This works extra well if we surprise the person (cue tears of joy).
Have no fear, they won't get tongue-tired or blank because I write on a card a short script for your pronouncer, and call them up at the end of the ceremony to pronounce you as the HOTTEST newlyweds in NSW!
6. Cheers big ears!
Have a favourite spirit? Have you been saving a fancy bottle of something for your wedding? Want to look all boujee with a champagne tower? Or do you just like toast to kick start the party?
Finish your ceremony with a raised glass to the newlyweds! It is a tone-setter and means everyone has a bev as soon as the ceremony is done. NOTE: This can take a bit of pre ceremony planning so be sure to chat with me and your venue.
7. Paper, Scissors, ROCK!
Now this ceremony inclusion rocks… (sorry). Essentially we have a rock off to decide who will deliver their vows first. It makes for a bit of a laugh to calm the nerves and makes for some epic facial expressions in pictures! Most couple say they were so focused on winning they forgot they were about to read their vows and the nerves flew away!
This can be altered to a thumb war, slap off (at your own risk) or eeny meeny miny moe! The winner chooses who goes first!
8. Special and Cultural Traditions.
Every time we talk about traditions in my house, my partner tells me the story of is great great (great gre… you get the idea) grandfather who saved King Henry from drowning and was gifted a gold goblet. Every family member must drink from the goblet at their wedding… I don’t know which King Henry or whose dirty mouths have been on ‘the goblet’ but he tells the story with such excitement that you bet yo’ ass I’ll be drinking from that darn cup!
If you have a family or cultural tradition or ritual that you would like to include in your ceremony, include it. It’s a great way to make it authentic to you and create some uniqueness!
9. Include someone special
If there’s someone you’d like to include in your ceremony or someone that realllllly wants a job, there is always a way to include them, and OF COURSE we let it be known how grateful we are for them and give them a BIG shoutout. I’m talking, ring bearer, confetti hander outer (that’s a word), music person, dog minder or childminder, shot pourer, bouquet holder.
10. Ninja Vows
This is an ancient technique used by only the most advanced ninja couples whereby each person writes their partners vows (YES, whatever you want to make them promise to do forever more eg: pick up the dogs poop, fall asleep legs intertwined, file all tax returns, foot rubs before bed… you get my point).
You then send these to me and me only, I bring them along to the ceremony and have your partner read them out to you during the ceremony FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Like a karate chop to the face, POW.
If you have enjoyed reading this, IMAGINE how fun it would be to see it IRL.
Book me as your wedding celebrant and we can talk about including them in your ceremony. Remember, having your aunty Susan attempt to perform these ceremony inclusions WILL NOT have the same effect as an experienced, genuine and enthusiastic celebrant.
