Make an entrance.
Arrive
(or depart) by horseback, horse-drawn carriage, sleigh,
vintage car, ferry boat, bicycle, motorcycle, snowmobile, or canoe!
Incorporate
your interests.
Are you
both nature-lovers?
Include a
reading about love and nature.
Do you both love to
dance? Have your bridal party tango down the aisle
to the altar. Roller-skate down the aisle together! Or both of you could dance up the aisle
after the ceremony! Have your ceremony be a
celebration of the two of you- together.
Be a total romantic.
Walk down an aisle full of fresh rose petals. Have a
candlelight service. Get married at sunrise. Get married
where you first met. Or where he proposed. Serenade
each other!
Include your pets in
the ceremony!
If you have a very
well behaved, beloved pooch,
and your wedding site permits animals,
have a dog ring bearer or a dog flower girl!
Alternative locations. Church
and chapel weddings aren't your only choice. How about a park,
the beach, a
museum, a bed and breakfast, a boat, or your own backyard?
Throw a surprise
wedding! Invite guests to a luncheon
or dinner, then announce they've been gathered to witness your
wedding vows! A surprise wedding is a lot of fun, and
minimizes much pre-wedding stress.
Plan a theme.
Pick a
theme- beach, country-western, Dr. Seuss-
something you love.
For a Medieval wedding ceremony, choose Celtic Music; have a
harpist or live Minstrels playing and fresh flowers in
your hair, arrive in a horse drawn carriage, and ask your guests
to dress in Medieval clothing. Or have them dress as
characters from an opera, fairytale, book or movie.
Or
choose a seasonal or holiday theme.
Winter wonderland and Christmas weddings are beautiful,
and many venues are magically decorated at this season.
Valentine's Day is a natural. Or
how
about a New Year's Eve party with a countdown at midnight for
your just-married first kiss? Theme
weddings are fun to plan and fun to attend.
People will talk about your wedding for years!
And the bride wore...
Express yourself with your dress, whether you prefer a
traditional gown with a long, cathedral veil, a Medieval or Victorian
costume, a blush pink gown or gown with color details, or a white eyelet sundress and bare feet.
Honor
the special people in your life.
Have both of your parents walk you down the aisle, have your sister do a reading or sing a solo, hand roses to your
mother and mother-in-law during a
rose ceremony, ask a favorite uncle to offer your final
blessing, include a prayer of thanks to your family, station
someone to give flowers to every female as they walk in to be
seated, or, after the vows and the kiss, have the minister
invite the whole family up to join the wedding party as he
presents you as husband and wife.
Have a
family wedding. If
you have children who are old enough to participate, then make
them part of the ceremony.
Include
ethnic traditions.
Use readings, blessings or ceremony rituals that reflect your
own heritage- or use ideas from other cultures that simply
resonate with you. Scottish background? How about
bagpipe music?
Use all 5 senses in
your plans. Include
flowers with lovely scents, such as stephanotis, gardenias,
jasmine, lavender, or apple blossoms. Ask your florist
what would be available, or ask a gardening friend. If you
have an ocean-side wedding, salt-water scents and sea sounds
will forever remind you of your wedding day. Have
wind-chimes for an outdoor wedding. Let your favorite
color be your theme, and carry it out from your invitations to
your wedding cake.
Have fun with your big
kiss. Have your
attendants hold up rating cards!
A happy exit. On your way back down the aisle, stop and greet people and enjoy
your guests! For an intimate and informal wedding,
especially outdoors, skip the processional and recessional
altogether, and just gather casually and hug and kiss everyone
when it is over!
Celebrate!
End your wedding ceremony with
streamers and noisemakers, confetti, rose petals, bubbles or bells! Bubble machines
are very effective. Have a dove or balloon release.
Celebrate with fireworks!
Have fun!
You don't need to have a cookie cutter
wedding. This is a once-in-a-lifetime day, so do what you
like and have a blast!
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