Transition from Ceremony to Cocktail?

Typically the officiant will announce the couple and everyone applauds, then you and any bridal party members exit down the aisle. Then your officiant can announce that the bride & groom invite them all to enjoy a cocktail hour. (If it’s at a different location, even just another room, they’d include where to go.) Then the bridal party and you two can come back in.


Even not doing pictures, please take a brief private moment with your new spouse. We walked down the aisle and straight back to the bride’s changing room to just take a moment to be with each other, and it was a very special time for us. Enjoy your moment!! No one will begrudge you a few minutes.

View Quoted Comment Thank you very much for your help! Did you do a walkthrough or practice? I'm thinking of doing a walkthrough with my partner.

View Quoted Comment We did a wedding rehearsal. We didn’t directly practice walking out, but we all discussed the plan and where to go while we were there.