Why A Ceremony Rehearsal Is Important
A Wedding rehearsal is crucial to make sure everyone in your wedding party and involved in your wedding ceremony are on the same page. This is your practice run for your actual wedding day. Rehearsal’s can take place the morning of the wedding, the day before the wedding or a few days before the wedding, depending on your schedule and the venues rules/restrictions. This can be a helpful for those involved in the big day, to get their questions answered and to practice the processional (entering) and recessional (exciting) for the ceremony.
If your Venue doesn’t offer rehearsal space or has another wedding booked the day before your wedding, don’t just opt out of planning a rehearsal. There are other options to consider for a quick run-through. We often make other spaces work for rehearsals such as an empty room at your rehearsal dinner location, a meeting room at your hotel or even a backyard. As long as you can find the space to fit your group in and are able to get creative, you can make it work. When you are doing a rehearsal off site, just make sure to be very descriptive and clear about how things will be set up on wedding day and where your wedding party will be walking in and out from. It may be helpful to bring along photos of the actual Ceremony space or a drawing/diagram of the set up. That way you can explain it with visuals before practicing to movements.
There is a lot more that goes into walking down the aisle and the ceremony in general then it appears on the surface. Going into it blind is not something I don’t recommend doing as it can make things feel very confusing and stressful during the actual wedding day ceremony. There are a lot of moving parts when everyone is walking down the aisle such as, where to stand at the altar; what does dad do when he get’s you to your partner; when do the parents walk in; who holds the rings and when to hand them off; who holds the Bride’s flowers at the altar and when should they be handed off; who fluffs the Bride’s dress train and veil; what are the music cues; and how to walk back up the aisle after the ceremony, just to name a few. These are all things you will want to plan out and discuss during your rehearsal to ensure a smooth running ceremony.
Let’s also not forget that a rehearsal is a fun way to celebrate your excitement with your wedding party and close family and friends. This is a more intimate and casual space to joke, laugh and have a good time before the big day. Time to get the jitters out and extend all the fun of celebrating the happy couple. Plan a nice dinner for afterwards at a nearby restaurant, or enjoy a backyard pizza party or BBQ at your home or the home of a local friend of family member. Soak up the moments together and enjoy each other’s company!
If you were on the edge of considering whether or not to do a rehearsal, my hope is that this blog helps you understand the importance of a practice run of some kind. Walking and talking it all out will allow you and your wedding party and VIP’s to work out all the kinks, get your questions answered and shake off any pre-wedding stressers/jitters. If you have a Wedding Planner, they can help walk you through every part of this so make sure you talk with your planner about all the ceremony details so that they can help you create a smooth running rehearsal. Get your Officiant involved as well as they will likely want to do a practice run of some or all of the readings/script for the big day. Remember to use this time wisely to make sure everything is in order and runs nice and smooth for your wedding day but don’t forget to have fun and live in the moments!
Happy Planning <3
Naticia
