Jodi and her father at Chateau Bu-she



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See My Ceremony in
a Complete Overview

Designing Your Ceremony

Seeing Is Believing

Options:
  The Unity Candle
  Wine Sharing
  The Symbology of Crystals
  Presenting Roses to Vips
  The Blessing Tree
  Vows By Candlelight
  Entering With Roses
  Using a Photomontage
  Readers
  Sample Readings
  Taking Parental Vows
  Bubbles, Bells and Petals
  The 2nd Kiss
  Doves and Butterflies

Advice On:
  Why Most Ceremonies Fail
  The 5 Ultimate Rules
  Facing Your Guests
  Using Subliminals
  Escorts and Ushers
  Escorting a Bride
  Children in Weddings
  Using an Aisle Runner
  Using a Carriage
  Using a Limousine
  Promoting Your Wedding

Considerations:
  Seating
  Environment
  Protecting Your Entrance
  Honoring Culture
  Interfaith Ceremonies
  Creativity and Style
  Actions in Memoriam
  Helping Photographers
  Understanding Lighting
  The Order of Events
  Making a Program/Handbill

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1. The Needs Of The Audience Come First.  Every one of your invited guests has a need and a right, to see you, to hear you, and to be entertained by what you have invited them to. If your wedding ceremony is not enjoyed by everyone present- you fail.  Also, it is not enough to simply recreate for your guests every wedding ceremony they've already seen a dozen times.  The typical wedding ceremony - which has the couple's backs turned to their guests, and which is virtually inaudible to all except those in the first row, uses predictable music etc.- is so numbing that 10% to 40% of those invited will skip it and attend the reception.  I'll show you how to change all of this by using a ceremony format that's fun to watch and listen to, as well as emotionally evocative.  The success of your wedding ceremony lies in engaging your guests; everything else is secondary to this.

2 Feelings Make Weddings.  The ceremony must evoke feelings in your guests for feelings are what move us- not mere words. Intellectually based ceremonies, where love is explained or where the minister bases his ceremony on telling anecdotal stories about the couple make for marginal affairs indeed. One month after your wedding day, very few people will be able to tell you what was said during your ceremony- that's human nature.  But ten years from now they will still be able to tell you how they felt at your wedding ceremony. The success of your wedding ceremony will therefore be measured in smiles and tears. Don't let it be measured in yawns.

3. Poise Makes A Bride And Groom.  Even though I have 90% of the speaking role in your ceremony, you and your bridal party are going to do a lot more talking than I am.  And you're going to do by the way you conduct yourselves.  Despite my beautiful presentation of your ceremony, your guests will be intently studying you, not me.  And therein lies an immense opportunity for the both of you.  By conducting yourselves in a focused, calmed, at times lightly affectionate manner, and by taking your time when interacting with loved ones during your ceremony, your poised performance will bring rave reviews.  Don't worry, you may not know how to give such a performance right now but my thorough rehearsal session with you, typically between an hour, to an hour and a half in length, will have you well prepared and confident for a stellar performance.

4.  Your Ceremony Must Use Effective Visuals.  In every wedding ceremony- the eyes have it.  In other words, what your your guests see will far outweigh what they hear.  It follows then that 'story telling', as when a minister attempts to explain the meaning of love, or give the history of your relationship, will fall far short as a means of conveying what the day truly means to you.  Learning is work. Do you believe your guests would rather read the book or watch the movie? 
     In wedding planning, I make extensive use of visuals.  A visual might be the lighting of a unity candle; the use of readers; the giving of a long stem rose to your mothers and grandmothers; the lighting of a candle before the picture of a deceased loved one; wine sharing by the bride and groom; or a great finale involving your guests in a balloon release as you walk down the aisle between them.  Your ceremony must be strong in it's visual appeal.  You'll not only delight your guests, but your wedding video and photo album will be rich in imagery as well as exceptional.

5.  Your Ceremony Must Use Effective Subliminal Messaging.   A subliminal message is a communication that takes place without the use of words- and your wedding ceremony, regardless of who performs it, will be full of these silent, implied messages.  In a common wedding ceremony, many of the subliminals are good and just as many are bad- which means half are working against you.  Understanding subliminal messaging is so important to the success of your wedding that I have devoted an entire section to explaining its impact.    See Subliminals.