Running processional

You don't have to have a full blown rehearsal dinner, maybe a small BBQ or pizza party for wedding party. But it would be best to have as many people together and work it through as a group.

I was in a wedding where the groomsmen were military and couldn't get town until the morning of the wedding. We rehearsed without them and gave them notes later. It helped to have the bride's aunt line us up in the back of the church.

Unless you have a unique venue, a rehearsal really isn’t necessary. Most adults can get themselves down the aisle with minimal instruction. Decide what order you want people to walk in and how you want them to walk. Are the groomsmen walking in separate? From the side? Are the bridesmaids and groomsmen walking together? The last wedding I was in, we walked in couples. We came in from the side and as soon as the first couple turned the corner down the aisle, the next couple would begin to walk in, and so on. If your aisle is a straight shot from the entrance, just pick a point. Tell them, when the person in front of you gets to the first row of chairs, begin to walk. Or when the person in front of you gets to that flower arrangement, begin to walk. If you want, you could rehearse the morning of the wedding.

View Quoted Comment We might be able to do something small, but we would likely be missing my fiancée, her bm and the officiant. With it being so small I wasn’t initially concerned with it, but I’d really just like to be sure that it goes smoothly.


My mom has been helping me organize everything so far and it never clicked that she would be one of the first ones to walk down to be seated and wouldn’t be able to help orchestrate the rest. My aunt may be able to step in and help with that if needed though!

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Worse comes to worse, send everyone an email of a detailed list of the processional. We also have 2 groomsmen who are OOT and we're not sure if they'll be in town in time for the rehearsal dinner either. One is BM so he better know where to stand lol.

Can you run through it quickly right before the wedding?

View Quoted Comment It probably won’t be couples, we both have a MOH and one BM.
The venue is a little weird though, it’s outdoors and there’s really only one place for me to stand and not be seen by everyone before I walk down the aisle, but it’s a little hard to run everything from that spot. We were initially concerned with how I’d walk down the aisle and didn’t think too much about everyone else, so I guess we’ll have to consult our layout and see what other options we have.

Our DJ is actually going to be helping with this. I may have a DOC, not sure yet. But if I don't, DJ will be there to tell the first couple when to start walking. Then the rest of them will just go in time to the music. We are planning a rehearsal the night before, mostly to get the spacing between the couples finalized. I just need to see it one time to figure out how far apart they need to go. But DJ Murph will be giving each couple the cue to walk, from the back of the space.

View Quoted Comment This definitely sounds like an option if we can’t do a run through. Thank you! My side will be here by then, but all of her family/bridal party is coming from out of town and I have no idea when to expect them yet.

View Quoted Comment Possibly, but we are already planning first look photos and I worry about running through it still when all of the guests start to arrive. The area is pretty open so there’s really no way to “hide it” or just keep the doors closed if anyone gets there too early.

1. Make sure people know the order they're walking in

2. Make sure they know WHEN to walk (we actually had a coordinator at our rehearsal but he was COMPLETELY incompetent, we literally would've been better off with no one there, and for our processional my husband was walking down the aisle with his dad and brother, and my bridesmaids were supposed to walk down after that.... coordinator was telling my bridesmaid to start walking before husband was done hugging his dad at the front of the room? Like no, wait for the groom to finish freaking hugging his dad and THEN walk lol)

3. Make sure they know to look up (don't hang their heads)

4. Make sure they walk slow enough, don't rush down the aisle (my husband walked SO FAST and it's so annoying in our video, you barely get to see him -.-)

5. Make sure your bridesmaids hold their bouquets low by their belly buttons (I was so nervous that I actually forgot this and held mine up by my chest, not a HUGE deal, but it looks a little silly in the photos lol)

6. Make sure they know what side of the altar to go to, and in what order (i.e. the first groomsman to walk down the aisle stands on the groom's side but farthest from the groom so he has to leave enough room for all the other groomsmen to stand between him and the groom)

View Quoted Comment Not have a DJ was a pretty quick decision for us to make to save money, but I’m definitely seeing how it would make organizing people a lot easier!

View Quoted Comment This is really helpful, thank you so much! I never would have thought to mention keeping heads up and flowers, but I can see it making a difference.

We are planning on having a family member be the coordinator for the day to make sure things start on time and for things to go smoothly.