How a religious wedding should be celebrated

This scheme covers each of the traditional elements of a Christian wedding ceremony. It was designed to be a complete guide for planning and understanding every aspect of the ceremony.

Not all of the items listed here need to be incorporated into your service. You can choose to change the order and add your personal expressions that will give special meaning to your service.

Your Christian wedding ceremony can be personalized, but it should include expressions of adoration, reflections of joy, celebration, community, respect, dignity and love. The Bible does not provide a specific outline or order to define exactly what should be included, so there is room for your creative touches. The primary objective should be to give each guest a clear impression that you, as a couple, make an eternal and solemn covenant with each other before God. Your wedding ceremony should be a testimony of your life before God, showing your Christian testimony.

Pre-wedding ceremony events
Images
Wedding party photos should begin at least 90 minutes before the service starts and end at least 45 minutes before the ceremony.

Wedding party dressed and ready
The wedding party must be dressed, ready and waiting in the appropriate places at least 15 minutes before the start of the ceremony.

Prelude
Any preludes or musical solos should take place at least 5 minutes before the start of the ceremony.

Lighting of candles
Sometimes candles or candlesticks are lit before guests arrive. Other times the ushers turn them on as part of the prelude or as part of the wedding ceremony.

The Christian wedding ceremony
To better understand your Christian wedding ceremony and make your special day even more meaningful, you may want to take some time to learn the biblical meaning of today's Christian Christian traditions.

processional
Music plays a special role on your wedding day and especially during the procession. Here are some classic tools to consider.

Seating for parents
Having the support and involvement of parents and grandparents in the ceremony brings a special blessing to the couple and also expresses honor to previous generations of marriage unions.

Processional music begins with the sessions of honored guests:

Seats of the groom's grandmother
Seating of the bride's grandmother
Seats of the groom's parents
Seating of the mother of the bride
Wedding procession begins
The minister and groom enter, usually from the stage on the right. If the groom's witnesses are not escorting the bridesmaids down the corridor to the altar, they also enter together with the minister and the groom.
Bridesmaids enter, usually along the central corridor, one at a time. If the groom's witnesses are escorting the bridesmaids, they enter together.

The wedding begins in March
The bride and her father come in. Typically, the bride's mother will remain at this time as a signal to all guests. Sometimes the minister will announce: "Everyone gets up for the bride."
The call to worship
In a Christian wedding ceremony, opening remarks that typically begin with "Dearlyoved" are a call or invitation to worship God. These opening remarks will invite your guests and witnesses to participate in adoration with you as you join the holy marriage.

The opening prayer
The opening prayer, often called invocation of marriage, typically includes thanksgiving and a call for God's presence and blessing for the service that is about to begin.

At some point in the service, you may want to say a wedding prayer together as a couple.

The Congregation is seated
At this time the congregation is generally asked to sit.

Give away the bride
Handing over the bride is an important way to involve the parents of the bride and groom in the wedding ceremony. When parents are not present, some couples ask a devoted godfather or mentor to give the bride away.

Cult song, Hymn
At this time the wedding party typically moves to the stage or platform and the Flower Girl and Ring Bearer are seated with their parents.

Keep in mind that your wedding music plays an important role in your ceremony. You can select a cult song to sing for the entire congregation, a hymn, an instrumental or a special solo. Not only is the choice of your song an expression of worship, it is also a reflection of your feelings and ideas as a couple. When planning, here are some tips to consider.

The charge for the newlyweds
The accusation, generally given by the minister during the ceremony, reminds the couple of their individual duties and roles in marriage and prepares them for the vows they are about to make.

The commitment
During the promise or "engagement", the spouses declare to the guests and the witnesses that they spontaneously came to get married.

Wedding vows
At this moment of the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom face each other.

Wedding vows are at the heart of the service. The spouses publicly promise, before God and the witnesses present, to do everything in their power to help themselves grow and become what God created them to be, despite all the adversities, as long as both live. The wedding vows are sacred and express the entry into an alliance relationship.

Exchange of rings
The exchange of the rings is a demonstration of the couple's promise to remain faithful. The ring represents eternity. Wearing wedding rings throughout the couple's life, they tell everyone else that they are committed to being together and staying true to one another.

Lighting the candle
The lighting of the unitary candle symbolizes the union of two hearts and lives. Incorporating a unitary candle ceremony or other similar illustration can add profound meaning to your wedding service.

sharing
Christians often choose to incorporate Communion into their wedding ceremony, making it their first act as a married couple.

The pronunciation
During the declaration, the minister declares that the spouses are now husband and wife. Guests are reminded to respect the union that God created and that no one should try to separate the couple.

The closing prayer
The closing prayer or blessing is coming to an end. This prayer generally expresses a blessing from the congregation, through the minister, wishing the couple love, peace, joy and God's presence.

The kiss
Right now, the minister traditionally says to the groom: "Now you can kiss your bride."

Presentation of the couple
During the presentation, the minister traditionally says: "It is now my privilege to introduce you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. ____".

The wedding party leaves the platform, usually in the following order:

Bride and groom
The Ushers return for honored guests who are escorted in reverse order from their entry.
Ushers can then fire the remaining guests, all at once or one line at a time.