The Order of Events is a sequential listing of what will happen during your wedding ceremony. This listing is typically presented as a handbill and given to guests as they take their seats prior to the ceremony's start. Couples have a lot of freedom to tailor my ceremonies to fit their needs. This website, along with my planning session are where couples learn which ceremony options are right for them by actually seeing how other couples used them during their ceremonies. This removes all the guess work. Once options are discovered, they will be extensively practiced in live time during rehearsal. Added to this is the thoroughness of my coaching- which will bring out the absolute best in you. If you want to see what guests will be saying about your ceremony, click on the blue Comments button below. Following the 16 descriptions you will find my notes on ceremony design. Following that, I will assist you on how to assemble your own Order Of Events. If you are a client of mine just call or email me with your questions. If you are not a client just use the Comments page to email me your questions. Please be patient, I'll answer as soon as I can.  
 

Your ushers are to seat only your immediate family members and VIPs, not your guests. Showing 200 guests to their seats could take up to an hour. Upon joining us, your ushers should welcome your guests and invite them to sit wherever they wish. In this way your audience will have a balanced look, not favoring either family.
Let your groomsmen escort their brides- maids. Don't use the Chippendale entrance of a gaggle of tuxedoed guys entering with a groom, only to leave the bridesmaids to make unescorted entrances. This defeats the male/female nature of the ritual. Each groomsman will escort his lady to place, and then will walk over to the groom and congratulate him before his on looking guests.
Confident, poised, and elegant, are just some of the words your guests are going to use to describe how you made your entrance. Whatever anxiety you may have had about walking down the aisle, my thorough rehearsal is going to remove it. I'm going to extensively coach you, and your entrance is going to be smooth baby, just like an actress.
I will begin your ceremony by speaking to you and your guests about what your marriage means to all of us. This commentary is spoken from the center of the audience, allowing everyone to hear me while they are treated to seeing you and your magnificent bridal party fully arrayed before them. For guests and photographers,- this format has no equal.
 
 
 
 
This is a series of questions whereby you are Declaring what you are Intending on doing- namely joining your lives in marriage. The Declarations of Intent are the mission statements of a wedding ceremony. You both answer my questions with "I Do." The Declarations of Intent, along with the exchanges of Vows and Rings lay the foundation for virtually all wedding ceremonies.
The use of readers is very important stagecraft for your ceremony. They connect you with your guests because they come from the audience, not the bridal party. Their presence is photogenic and thereby develops your photo album. The reading should be brief; no one wants War And Peace! After their reading, the reader will give each of you a hug. A perfect contribution indeed!
Here you verbally commit your lives to each other. I use some very beautiful vow sets but I enthusiastically invite you to consider composing your own! Your guests will be delighted with you and this act alone will take your ceremony to the next level. Write your words on an index card and while holding hands, read them to him/her. Your guests will be enrapt!
I am a very big advocate of using two readers in any given ceremony. One reader associated with the groom; the other the bride. You can find these readings on my website, on the Internet, at Barnes and Noble, or your reader can compose his or her own. Some love to do this! If only one reader is used during your ceremony, he/she is used here and not in position 6 above.
Here you give each other a physical expression of fidelity. A bridesmaid and groomsman each are given a ring before the ceremony begins. It matters not who gets which ring as your guests do not study this. Do not give your bridal party members the rings in their boxes or pouches. Also, do not give rings to children, give them costume jewelry on the ring pillow. Only adults hold rings.
 
 
 
 
Choose one of these options to be the focal point of your ceremony. Highly entertaining to watch and eminently photogenic, these five options are the heart and soul of my ceremonies. Guests 70 rows deep will lean forward in their seats to watch you do this. No other event- in any "traditional" wedding ceremony- can rival these.
As the Primary Options shown above join the two of you in marriage, so the Giving of Roses joins each of you to your new families. The greatest expressions of joy for a bride and groom can be seen in the faces and body language of the attending guests at this moment. The Giving of Roses is the emotional high ground of my ceremonies.
Your marriage will touch many lives just as your lives were touched by many. Family and friends (living and deceased), your children and your culture start the list. If honoring these contributors belongs in your ceremony there are many photogenic and meaningful ways of doing it. These five are but a sample list. There are dozens you can choose.
I can see it in the faces of my brides and grooms when I speak these final words of their ceremony. It's the look of joyful expectation infused with triumph. They know they have aced the test, that their ceremony has well exceeded their guests expectations, and that the richly deserved compliments of those guests await them.
Your married life begins with affection! What could be more fitting? And yes, during rehearsal you both will learn correct posing and arm placement for this embrace. I leave nothing to chance in my ceremonies. This photo is a one shot deal; we don't get to repeat it.
 
 
 
 

I'll ask all of your guests to come join me in center aisle. With photographers in place, and a great choice of music playing, you both, hand in hand, will begin slowly moving through these well wishers. They will applaud you, or toss petals, or ring hand bells as you kiss again in the middle of it all.

Imagine the photography!
The compliments begin here, and they will go on all night long. If you haven't done so, please see the Comments page of my website to read what my couples said their guests told them about their ceremonies. Make every effort to include time for a reception line after your ceremony. Your guests are dying to tell you how happy they are for you!
 
     
  Notes on my ceremony along with advice on how to assemble your Order Of Events will be added shortly.