The Ceremony Rehearsal – A MUST Have

It doesn’t matter if your ceremony has 20 or 500 attendees, you MUST have a ceremony rehearsal!


Your ceremony rehearsal is extremely important in order to make your wedding day flow correctly. It will also alleviate a ton of stress on your day.

I recently had a small wedding that cancelled their ceremony rehearsal with me on the day of the rehearsal. They felt that since their bridal party consisted of only 6 people total that it was a waste of their time. I tried to talk them into running through it even just once, but was turned down. 30 minutes before the ceremony the next day, the groom was completely panicked. He didn’t know what to do, didn’t know where to go, who was supposed to walk first, or when to walk. He had also forgotten that his fiancé wanted both of their mothers to be walked down the aisle.


The moral of the story: Your ceremony rehearsal is NEVER a waste of time.


Here is a small list of things to prepare you for the rehearsal:
1.) Make a diagram of where everyone is supposed to stand at the ceremony as well as any seats that need to be reserved in the front rows for your family.

2.) Make a list of the order of people that are supposed to walk down the aisle and who they are walking with. (Don’t forget grandparents & parents if you are including them!)

3.) Make a list of the songs you are using for the processional of the family, bridesmaids, bride, and recessional as well as when they are supposed to play.

4.) Give these lists to your planner if you have one, your DJ, and the catering manager.


At the ceremony rehearsal, here is a great way to run things:

1.) First, according to your diagram, have everyone in their correct places at the front of the church/venue (As if everyone had already walked down the aisle) This way, everyone will know where to stand when you do the ceremony from the beginning.

2.) Remind your bridal party to bend their knees slightly and not lock them…you don’t want anyone passing out during your ceremony!

3.) If your officiant/pastor/rabbi is present, have him/her do a short overview of the ceremony.

4.) Proceed with the recessional. Have the bridal party walk down the aisle as if the ceremony just ended.

5.) Line up at the back of the church/ceremony in the order as you prepare to start the ceremony from the processional.

6.) Run through the ceremony from the beginning with the processional, overview of the ceremony, and conclude with the recessional.

7.) Repeat the ceremony from the beginning if more practice is needed or anyone is confused.

Most importantly, have fun!  The ceremony rehearsal is usually pretty short, lots of fun and can get silly with the mistakes that people will inevitably make.