Friday, September 24, 2010

Ceremony Order

I would like to know in what order I should have the following in my wedding ceremony: reading of a poem by a friend, a song by groom to bride, a poem by bride to groom, lighting of candles: stepmother to light votive candle, my mother and mother in law to light taper candles, and then groom and bride to light unity candle. And how many songs should I have prior to the exchange of vows?

It really is your choice on what you would like in your ceremony. I've seen many different orders of ceremony, some with several solos before the exchange of vows, some with one before and one after, etc. The unity candle is always done after the vow exchange. Probably readings/poems would also be done before. In EZ Wedding Planner (Plan/Great Ideas) there are lots of topics relating to ceremony including samples. There is a sample order of service in Ceremony Programs that will give you some ideas.

1 comment:

celia Milton said...

Actually, there is no part of the ceremony that is "always" done in a specific place;generally the unity candle is done after the pronouncment, but there may be a reading or prayer in between, and when I write a ceremony, I have either the couple or the mothers light the side tapers at the very beginning.

If you are having your wedding ceremony outdoors, you may want to consider some other type of 'unity' ceremony like sand or water pourings, chocolate or wine sharings; anything that will not be effected by the wind.