how a typical wedding ceremony flows

You can also choose to include one of many rituals that add a great inspirational element to your ceremony for all to remember and cherish forever. 

There are of course legal requirements that need to be included in the ceremony and you will see them outlined in bold below.

welcome

I welcome your guests and introduce myself.

the giving away

This is an opportunity for the head of the household or a representative of the family to undertake the traditional “Giving away”.

introduction

Here we touch on the bond between you the bride and the groom, which has brought you to this day and your unity in marriage. We can touch on what marriage means to you and so on.

reading or poem

A special reading or poem chosen by the bride and groom to reflect the mood of the day.

declaration of intent

Having touched on what marriage means to you the bride and groom, this is where each of you will be asked, “will you love, respect”, etc.

vows

This is where you exchange vows/promises by expressing how you feel about each other and the hopes and dreams for your future. I believe that you should face each other whilst holding hands, repeating the words after me while you look at and speak those very special words to each other. By law, both the bride and groom need to include within their vows the following “I call upon the persons here present to witness that I [full name] take you [full name] to be my lawful wedded wife/husband.” Once both parties have spoken these words, the marriage becomes binding and the couple are officially married.

rings

An opportunity to express what the rings mean and their value/symbolism to each of you and then exchange rings with some personal words.

final reading, song or poem

An additional, special reading song or poem chosen by the bride and groom.

pronouncement

Here I will summarise the sentiments of the ceremony and I will declare or pronounce you husband and wife. Then the best bit….sharing your first kiss as husband and wife much to the delight of your family and friends.

signing of the register

You will have by this time chosen 2 witnesses to sign the legal documents. The legal requirement of the witnesses is that they are to be 18 or over and could hear and understood the ceremony. I will announce that the bride and groom will seal their vows with the signing of the register (or words to that effect) and guests can enjoy some music at this time. There are 2 copies to be signed so it is a good idea to have 2 – 3 songs available to be played in the background during the process.

presentation

I will then introduce the newlyweds as either Mr & Mrs, the bride and groom, husband and wife, or a title of your choice. You will then walk back down the aisle (A lively upbeat love song is works really well here) and lead everyone in a recessional where there will be an opportunity for your family and friends to offer their congratulations and to shower you with congratulations and kisses!