Top Three Reasons To Have a Wedding Rehearsal
As professional wedding officiants, we do weddings every weekend. We see 2 kinds of weddings: The ones where everything moves flawlessly, like clockwork. And then, the others, where the wedding party doesn’t know where to go and what to do next. Or family members asking us whether they will be walking down the aisle or the couple themselves don’t know what to do after they’ve been announced as married.
Experience has taught us to encourage all our couples, whether having an elopement or a large wedding, to have a wedding rehearsal a couple of days before their big day.
Here are the top 3 reasons why you should have a Wedding Rehearsal:
You have a large wedding party. If you have more than 6 participants, you need a rehearsal. You want everyone to look and feel comfortable, and a rehearsal will allow everyone to ease into the ceremony.
There are children as part of the ceremony. If you’ve chosen to have kids participate in your ceremony, having a rehearsal is the best option for them. They may not have been to a wedding before, so a couple of practice rounds could ease their nerves.
PEACE OF MIND! This is the main reason to have a rehearsal. That 30 to 60-minute event will lessen your wedding day's stress and help you enjoy your day.
So, what do you need for a Rehearsal?
One of the first things you need is to make sure you are familiar with the location where the ceremony will take place. Also, consider the following questions:
Will you have a place to wait before you walk down the aisle?
Will the altar be big enough to fit all your wedding party or will they have to be seated?
Can you hold a ritual or tradition in that space?
Having a diagram of the location and the outline of your ceremony will help you visualize and organize your rehearsal more realistically.
The 3 crucial parts of your wedding ceremony will be the Processional (how you walk in), the Ceremony, and the Recessional (the way you leave).
Venue: Shula’s Hotel and Golf Club
Processional
There are several ways to do this part, so this should be discussed previously with your spouse-to-be and the person running your rehearsal. Consider these questions:
Do you both want to walk down the aisle, or does one of you want to wait at the altar?
Should your officiant walk down the aisle or wait at the altar?
If you are not walking down the aisle with a family member, should you walk down the aisle on your own?
What should be the order for your wedding party?
Will you have your Fur-Baby walk down the aisle with you?
Will you have Flower Girls and/or Ring Bearers? Will they be standing with the wedding party or take a seat with their parents?
Pet Concierge: Furever Us
There’s no right or wrong answer for any of these questions, it depends on your preference and what’s best to fit the logistics of the ceremony.
Another important topic to take into account is the music you and your wedding party will be walking down the aisle to.
Will you have a live musician or will the DJ provide the musical pieces?
Will each one of the parties walking down the aisle have a different song?
What about the type of music?
There are several options, depending on if you want a more traditional or a contemporary approach. The type of music will also mark the pace by which your wedding party will walk; if it’s a smaller party, the pace can be a bit slower and more spaced between each participant.
Ceremony
This is where having your officiant lead the rehearsal or, at the very least, being present is extremely helpful. As Florida Wedding Officiants, we know exactly the layout of the ceremony. Think of the following:
Will there be an unplugged announcement?
When do the traditions take place, like a Unity Sand or Unity Candle ceremony?
Will you recite your vows?
Who will hold the rings?
When will you say your I do’s?
And what we tell all our couples in our Wedding Planning sessions, remember to hold hands and ALWAYS look at each other.
Venue: The Palms Hotel and Spa
Recessional
This is the opposite of the Processional, so this is how you and your wedding party will part. The first ones to leave, of course, are the Newlyweds. Practice this part, walk down the aisle, remember to smile, perhaps even talk to your photographer since they may ask you to pose again for a kiss at the end of the aisle. Who follows next is up to each couple to decide, but many go for their wedding party, parents and officiant, in that order.
Next to consider is where you and your wedding party will be heading right after:
Will there be a cocktail hour for guests?
Where will the officiant stamp your marriage license?
Where will you take pictures with your wedding party and family members?
Run the complete rehearsal at least 3 times, once under someone’s direction and twice on your own so everyone feels comfortable and knows the lay of the land.
Now, who would you trust with the direction of your wedding rehearsal? If you have a wedding coordinator, they usually take over these duties. However, day-of wedding planners and in-house wedding coordinators from venues don’t offer this service. From Engaged To Married will design all the small details for your wedding rehearsal. You have 3 great Rehearsal options to choose from:
Our Rehearsal Attendance package includes:
Rehearsal attendance with Ceremony outline
We will go through all the motions of what your ceremony will have: vows and ring exchange, Unity ceremonies, Giving away of the couple, etc.
Our Rehearsal Direction package includes:
Rehearsal design with outline
Diagrams of your Processional, Altar Line Up, and Recessional with the names of your wedding party and family members
From Engaged To Married will lead your rehearsal
Our DIY Rehearsal package includes:
One 30-minute online consultation to plan the Rehearsal
Rehearsal design with outline
Diagrams and step-by-step instructions of your Processional, Altar Line Up, and Recessional with the names of your wedding party and family members
One 30-minute online consultation to run through the Rehearsal with you and 2 more guests
We are meticulous and experienced, so our couples’ wedding ceremonies always run like clockwork! Still not convinced? Check out this video with footage of a recent rehearsal and ceremony.
