Ceremony rehearsals

I had one! I didn’t have a bridal party at all but still found it very useful.



Our officiant (a family member) walked us through the ceremony but didn’t spoil any of the nice words he had written. We knew when I was going to give my bouquet to my friend and we knew when the keeper of the rings would walk up to the alter to give the rings. (We also planned to have his seat in a certain spot so he wouldn’t have to climb over anyone). He told us at what point during the ceremony we’d be ask to join hands and we pretended to put our rings on eachother. And then my friend would give me my bouquet back and we would walk down the aisle. ***oh and I used a “bow bouquet” that was made for me at my bridal shower***
At the ceremony rehearsal, I also showed my immediate family where they were going to sit. Grooms parents on opposite side of the groom so they could see his face better. And same with my family. My cousin was doing a reading so I put her on the end so she didn’t have to climb over anyone. We also reviewed who would walk in and in what order.
It was supppper simple and only took about 10 minutes. The rest of the time was spent catching up and having my side of the family chat with his side. And then we went out to a dinner hosted by the grooms family. All in all we had about 20 ppl there. Parents, grandparents, siblings, 2 aunts and 2 uncles. (Our flower girls did not attend the rehearsal)

We also did not have music at our rehearsal. I planned the music with the musician separately.

I would definitely recommend the rehearsal!

Good luck!

We opted out of having a rehearsal, we are getting married on Saturday, November 26. Our venue only does rehearsals on Monday-Wednesday. Our ceremony is only 15 minutes so we think we can figure it out without a rehearsal.

The only ones that came to the actual rehearsal were those participating in the ceremony plus the mother of our ring bearer and flower girl. Our venue coordinator and officiant ran the whole thing and just walked through what the process would be like. We didn't do full readings but just said where certain things would be at during the ceremony. It took MAYBE 30 minutes, not even. We also handed out gifts after practicing. Then dinner was immediately following at a restaurant about 5 minutes away, spouses were invited and most of them just met us at dinner. We didn't want to overcomplicate the dinner guest list so it was just bridal party, parents, and spouses.

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Those 10 minutes sound super productive. I bet walking down the aisle with your ladies makeshift bouquet was exciting! I forgot about that shower ritual! I think it would be nice to spend quiet time with those closest before the business of the big day. Thanks for your description, Bird.

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It's almost time! I'm very excited for you, Megan. We also opted out of rehearsals, and had an open welcome dinner instead.

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Sarah, this sounds like a very good flow to the day. It was thoughtful to include spouses of the wedding party. It would seem logical, but expenses do add up and some include participants only.

You mentioned ring bearer and flower girl. I've personally seen children benefit from a walk through. At rehearsal, the kids are funny and enjoy the spotlight walking down. Usually, on the wedding day, they calm down with the formality. But, sometimes I've seen young ones cry and refuse to walk when they see all the people and music.

Our Priest recommended skipping the rehearsal. We went through the traditional ceremony schedule in 2 office meetings. We also chose a smaller wedding party: 1 MOH, and 1 BM who would have had a hard time commuting twice. Instead of a rehearsal dinner, we had a welcome dinner where the families met each other for the first time. On the wedding day, our Priest just whispered cues, e.g. hug MIL, shake hands of FIL, stand, etc. We even added the Filipino tradition of chord, veil, and coins and it still went well.

20 years ago, my sister's rehearsal experience was notable. She cried when she practiced her vows which was understandable. You may not be in your gown and veil, but it's the first time you say those words. On wedding day, my mom who is an MD gave her a sedative so she can make it through.

Basically you will practice everyone walking down the aisle to the actual music, to see how long it takes, and placement of your attendants. Usually they don’t practice the main ceremony, but some may. It may be practiced once if everyone is a pro or 2-3 times if they aren’t to get people comfortable.


Some vital vendors say they are unnecessary and charge extra to attend, but they are super important for everyone to be there. At the same time, some people say it’s best to have it 2 days ahead, which doesn’t make sense because people will forget.
At rehearsals we have participated in, usually it’s easier for significant others to attend rather than taking a separate car to the rehearsal dinner.
We will have a traditional rehearsal because it is important for us to make sure everyone knows what they are doing, where to stand and how long it takes to walk in and out to the selected music. In our circles, a casual inexpensive rehearsal dinner (pizza or Chinese for example are common) is the norm. Fancy expensive dinners at a restaurant are not done, nor are welcome parties for all invited guests who are traveling. Then, immediately following is the bachelor/ette party in town if there is one planned, instead of a weekend away requiring flights and hotel for all attending.

Im in a tough situation since I wont know if my venue will be available for a rehearsal space until only a month or two before. If they can book that Friday night for an event/wedding they certainly will. I thought about doing a run-through in a hotel conference room if we cant get into the venue. I mainly need to practice timings, order, speed, etc. and make sure everyone knows how they need to be lined up. We have a lot of family who will need to walk down. We've also toyed with the idea of doing the rehearsal in the venue the morning of which might be the route we decide to take.

Our church coordinator was awful, and the rehearsal was all over the place, but I think overall it was a good idea to have one since we had a Catholic ceremony with a full mass and not everyone involved was Catholic or had been to many Catholic weddings before. It also gave my bridesmaids a chance to figure out how they wanted to handle the bouquets and fluffing my train, and all of our readers, presenters of the gifts, and anyone else with a role was able to see when their moment was, where they needed to be seated, etc.

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A bachelor/ bachelorette the night before sounds fun but draining before an all-day wedding. If I was the bride, I would be afraid of looking and feeling less fresh. Any tips on how to do this?

View Quoted Comment I went to a rehearsal like this. The bride reserved a conference room in the hotel she and her bridal party was staying. We practiced who would walk in when and with whom and how much time it would take. The minister helped the father of the bride know not to sit after he says “do you give your daughter” etc etc. then he asks the entire congregation to sit. them with the parent unity candle and where the parents stand for that. The brides 13 year old cousin practiced her reading in front of everyone. It was very useful! I would recommend. Good luck!!