Wedding Planning: Including Loved Ones in the Ceremony

A wedding is the celebration of two people coming together to join in a lifetime commitment of love. Friends and family also long to celebrate the couple, which is why weddings can be so meaningful for everyone who attends. More and more, couples want to incorporate friends and family members into their weddings. However, having 15 people on each side of the wedding party becomes a tad pretentious, expensive, and unrealistic. Here are some ways couples can incorporate friends and family members into their weddings so that everyone can be included in celebrating the couple.

A slideshow is a unique and touching way to include friends and family in a wedding. Guests entering the church or ceremony location can be greeted with a slide show consisting of family wedding photos set to an inspirational song. Pictures can include grandparents, parents, and loved ones of the wedding couple on their respective wedding days. This slide show can be incorporated into a slide show of the couple as children, growing up, meeting etc. Loved ones will appreciate reliving their own special day and that the wedding couple cared enough to include them.

Another way to bring close friends and family into a wedding ceremony is to invite some of them to do readings. Either the couple can choose a special passage or poem, or leave it up to the discretion of the loved one. This is an excellent compromise to keeping an intimate wedding party while still honoring special people in the bride and groom's life. If anyone in the couple's circle has artistic talents, perhaps they can be honored through their craft. One person can serenade the wedding couple as part of the ceremony, or as they exit the church or wedding location.

Consider introducing important loved ones when the bridal party and groomsmen are introduced. Traditionally, when a wedding party enters the reception, the bride and groom are introduced publicly, then the wedding party, and sometimes the parents of the bride and groom. Why not take this opportunity to honor and thank some of the other special people who helped the couple get to this point in their journey together? Perhaps giving thanks to the people who introduced them to each other, or to their grandparents for modeling a long, happy marriage, or a special friend who gave the couple advice. This is a wonderful way to share with loved ones how special they truly are to a couple.

These are only three of many ways loved ones can be included into ceremonies when they are not in the bridal party. Remember, couples can break tradition like in the now famous JK wedding entrance video and have their loved ones dance with them down the aisle. They can also include friends and family by having all the guests circle them at the wedding location during the ceremony, rather than sitting in chairs. Lastly, couples can have guests each light a candle for the couple, or ring a ceremonial bell to show their love and support. Also consider allowing guests to make public toasts to the bridal party. The possibilities are endless.