When we're talking about ring bearers and flowers girls coming down the aisle, the "when-do-they-enter" question is only half the conversation. We also need to consider how the kids are going to feel and how they might respond when their big moment comes. (For that other half of the conversation - my post on all the "when-do-they-enter" stuff - just click here.) As a professional officiant, I've seen plenty of kids - hundreds - nail it with flying colours. I've also seen kids sit down in the...
A Very Unboring Blog
Ring Bearers and Flower Girls: When They Walk in the Processional
Weddings are a family event, and that means our wedding couple will often ask some little ones to walk as ring bearers and flower girls in the wedding processional. Over the past couple of weeks, we've covered how the officiant comes in and how the couple's parents come in. It's time to talk about the children. Ring bearers, flower girls, junior bridesmaids, junior groomsmen: how and when do we include all the kids in the processional order? It's a common question that couples ask me in our...
Seat the Parents: 4 Options for How and When They Enter in a Wedding Ceremony
In my wedding ceremony planning session with the wedding couple, I always ask, "Which parents will be attending the wedding?" (This is how I phrase it to allow for disinvited, estranged, or deceased parents to be omitted without too much discomfort for the couple.) Almost always, there will be at least one parent at the wedding. What do we do with the wedding couple's parent or parents? In a traditional wedding ceremony, it used to be a no-brainer: Dad walked daughter down the aisle. And even...
5 (But Really Just 4) Ways for the Wedding Officiant to Take the Front
Every wedding ceremony has one thing in common: the wedding officiant has to get to the front somehow. When we officiants conduct our wedding ceremony planning session with our couple, we want to succinctly lay out the options for them: "Here's a few ways we can kick this thing off." To do that, we've gotta be well-versed in those options ourselves. Now, the number of ways to get to the front of a room is limited only by our imagination - and maybe your imagination is way more animated than...
How to Add a Quaich to Your Wedding Ceremony
Confession: I'd never heard of a quaich before until I had a couple with Scottish roots ask me if we could add it to their wedding ceremony. "Uh, yeah! Of course... sure we can do that! ...What is it? And how do you spell that...?" Are you wondering how to add a quaich to the wedding ceremony for your couple? Technically, a quaich (pronounced "quake", but with more saliva) is a style of cup or bowl that traditionally originates in Scotland. So really, we would properly call this a quaich...
How Many Times the Wedding Officiant Meets with the Couple
We wedding officiants are going to meet several times with our couples in person. This is not a remote transaction, after all. We're looking to strike a balance between advising the wedding couple from our experience and expertise and giving them as much say and input about what they want for their wedding day. Another balance we're looking for is that sweet spot between meeting too many times and not meeting enough. How do we strike this balance? How many times do we need to meet with them? A...
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