ADVICE |
wedbyannemarie.com
By Annemarie Juhlian, Seattle Wedding Officiant
Annemarie Juhlian is a Seattle, WA Non-Denominational Wedding Officiant & Minister. She works with couples of all faiths and traditions to create contemporary and personalized ceremonies. Annemarie has been recognized by The Knot and Wedding Channel in 2011 as the “Best of The Knot Wedding Officiant – Seattle.” She lives outside of Seattle on Bainbridge Island with her husband, Greg, and their family of four special needs dogs. When she isn’t working in the wedding world, you can most often find her working in dog rescue/rehabilitation throughout Seattle/Tacoma, WA.
Ah, the famous “walk down the
aisle!” In my work life as a Non-Denominational Wedding Officiant & Minister, I work with many couples and their families/friends each year to make it down the wedding aisle in style.
Most of the time, a processional works. On occasion, it blows up!
I invite you to take a few minutes to read on as I offer 5 tips for a flawless walk down the aisle:
Just Do It: Rehearsal –Most often a processional blows up or goes sideways because a couple decides a rehearsal is too much hassle. If you are having a wedding ceremony, a rehearsal is not only a beautiful opportunity to practice the processional but it helps to insure a couple is more present and at ease on their wedding day. Why? Because a rehearsal “grounds” a couple and makes them comfortable in their bodies – they know what to do to get elegantly down the wedding aisle. Because a bride and groom knows what to do and what to expect, they remember more of a huge emotional experience.
Music Cues: Get It Right – I love music for a processional and all kinds of music for a walk down the aisle. Ensure you have a person in charge who cues in members of your
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wedding party and who has also worked with your DJ or live music group to get the cues right. Also, if you can budget for it, live music for a wedding ceremony is exquisite and sweet and most musicians can seamlessly orchestrate music transitions for a wedding party. I love the IPod BUT I’m not crazy about it for a wedding ceremony. Oftentimes the person working the IPod doesn’t get the cues right and/or the transition between music transitions is jarring and uneven.
Select An Officiant Who Takes Responsibility For Your Full Ceremony – Or Select A “Go To” Friend – A fabulous Wedding Officiant doesn’t stand there and wait for the music to begin. He or she takes full responsibility for a wedding ceremony and works to insure an easy and comfortable processional. When you hire your Officiant/ Minister, insure that they are indeed taking over your processional, especially if you don’t have a wedding planner or “day of “coordinator. If your Officiant/Minister isn’t full service in this way, pull in a friend to take responsibility for the success of your processional in all ways.
Take Advantage of The “Kid Factor” – Children bring such joy to a ceremony. If you have a gathering of family and friends with a lot of kids, consider having a “children’s parade” which processes down the aisle before the bride. The children could even have their own small instruments and create their own music! Also, most children never make it fully down the aisle without a “moment” or a hiccup and this only creates more happiness and joy on a wedding day .
Heads Up/Smile/Enjoy! This might seem trite, but it’s true. I encourage a wedding party, family and the bride/ groom to fully enjoy a processional by creating eye contact with others while walking down the aisle, keeping head up and allowing a big smile and/or joy to show on their face.
DIY WEDDINGS |
diyweddingsmag.com
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