Your wedding day is going to feel a little hectic and overwhelming with all the last-minute touches being placed hours before it starts. Having a successful wedding rehearsal will ensure that at least a few items are checked off your last-minute to-do list. This is especially important because people will be working in the ceremony area the day of and you won’t have the room and privacy to do a run through. This blog is going to help you check off all the major things you will need to do in the rehearsal to ensure everyone knows what to do during the wedding.

 

The Entrance/Exit Order

 

This is the most important thing to focus on during the wedding rehearsal. The entrance and exits are going to be the main thing that your bridal party is going to be confused on. They need to know when to enter and exit, what order they stand in, where they are coming out of and much more. You need to let everyone know what order they will enter in, including your family members you want walking down the aisle. This order is determined by what order your bridal party stands in and what seats your family members sit in. You will also want to focus on the timing of all the entrances, ensuring that no one moves too quickly or too slowly. If you give them exact details of all of this and run through it, at least twice, there should be no misunderstandings.

 

Here is how the entrance should work:

It should start with the grandparents of the groom and then the grandparents of the bride. Next the officiate, groom, best man and groomsmen come in that order. Then comes parents of groom, mother of bride and bridesmaids. Most of the time the last bridesmaid in the lineup, the one furthest from the bride, enters first and then they follow behind in that backwards order. Lastly, the flower girl and ring bearer lead the bride and father of the bride to the front.  

 

The Music

 

I would say one of the main mishaps of the wedding ceremony is the music. There are times when it doesn’t start on time, when the transitions are awkward, or when the sound is too loud or soft. You need to make sure you pick high-quality songs and have smooth transitions between each song. If you don’t want your bridal party hearing the music that will be played then take time after the rehearsal for just you, your partner and the DJ to review. Have the person doing the music play it all through with the transitions and everything in place. Correct anything you feel isn’t what you had in mind for the music. Ensuring that the music is good quality and the transitions are smooth will make the entrances and exits of the ceremony even more smooth and enjoyable for the bridal party and your guests.

 

The Ceremony

 

This is kind of a basic thing to go through but it is still important enough to be mentioned. The whole point of a wedding rehearsal is to practice and correct the ceremony. This is just a little reminder to ensure that everything that you want to be said is said. You want to confirm it is all in the order that you want it and laid out for everyone to understand. Also, if you have anything special/religious that you want to work into the ceremony then make sure everyone knows what to do and when it will happen. Ensure the officiate knows when to introduce the something special and that everyone involved knows where it is placed and when to move to it. For example, when lighting a unity candle you want the officiate to know what to say and when to introduce it. You also want to know where you will be standing and how you will do it.

 

Deal with The Rings

 

The last thing you need to do before ending the rehearsal is make certain that the rings are with whoever they need to be with. You want to give them to someone that you trust and know will handle them the next day. Most of the time people give them to their best man and maid of honor to hold onto. If you feel better giving them to a mom or wedding planner to hand out the next day then do that. It could be that your maid of honor or best man don’t feel comfortable overseeing it overnight and that’s okay. Just make sure you both know where your rings are and how they will be dispersed/dealt with the day of your wedding.

 

You can spend months planning your wedding day and going through every scenario for the day of. The wedding rehearsal is the time to put all your plans and thoughts out on the table and practice it. Follow these tips and make certain you feel comfortable with how the ceremony will be executed to ensure a successful and smooth wedding day.