wedding etiquette?

Question

Does the bride participate in the rehearsal or does she use a stand-in?

Answer 1

This isn't really an etiquette question. It's about whether a bride wants to participate in planning the movement of people for the wedding, or if she's content to have someone else do that and just be surprised on the wedding day. I think participating is more fun ... it's fairly light-hearted, you might have some opinions about something you want to do differently once you see everyone moving around, etc. It's entirely up to the bride. And of course, after the rehearsal it's often traditional to have a dinner for the people in the rehearsal, so it's a little weird for the bride to not come to the rehearsal, and then show up at the dinner, hearing people talk about what they did.

Answer 2

Yes, the bride in a traditional Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish ceremony will want to attend the rehearsal. I'm not familiar with other types of wedding ceremonies, but I presume that they too need to go through a rehearsal:

Traditionally, and weddings after all are all about family and tradition, it doesn't take an exceptionally long time to spot where the bride and groom and their attendants will stand during the ceremony and to choose the order that they will leave and enter, even if the wedding itself doesn't proceed exactly according to plan. Quite often the bride will ask either her wedding planner or a friend of her mother's to make sure that her attendants are appropriately spaced as they enter the sanctuary, auditorium, or ballroom where the wedding is taking place. After the maid or matron of honor immediately follows the bride, the other attendants usually follow according to height. [This makes for more photogenic pictures.] The groomsmen will also need instructions about how to escort the guests of both the bride and groom as well as the bride and groom's mothers and grandmothers down the aisle.

If the couple has written their own vows, they will also need to go over them, and if a minister or priest offers Communion, the couple (and most particularly the bride in the shoes and veil she plans to wear) may need some kneeling practice. Often times, the minister, rabbi, judge, or whoever is officiating at the ceremony will do his or her best to put the bride and groom at ease. The next day the couple will be participating in a solemn occasion, but they need to relax during this "dry run".

The rehearsal, however, is ordinarily the preliminary for the rehersal dinner--a time for both the bride and goom's families to get together in a more intimate and informal setting than the wedding dinner or reception. With the best man acting as master of ceremonies, he may offer a toast to the bride and groom, and the bride's father and groom may offer mutual toasts as well. If the bride and groom are getting married for the first time, they may also thank their parents for all that they have done for them. I've even seen families show home movies of the bride and groom when they were small children as part of the festivities. Usually all close friends and family staying overnight for the wedding are also invited to the rehearsal dinner.

Answer 3

The bride participates in the rehearsal. I've been in over ten weddings and I've never heard of stand in.

Answer 4

I've heard of some brides that have a stand in during the rehearsal because they believe it is bad luck to walk down the aisle before the wedding. I don't think it is that common, though.

Answer 5

I know that in the African-American culture brides DO NOT walk down the aisle during rehearsal. They usually have one of the hostesses or someone there stand in for them. It's supposed to be bad luck to walk down the aisle prior to the actual wedding. I know I plan on having a stand in because I only want to make that walk once to my groom.

Answer 6

The bride participates.

Answer 7

She participates in the rehersal. I think it is very important that she knows what she is doing.. because it is one of the biggest days in a girl's life and that would really suck if she screws things up. The best way to know what to really do is to practice. Every wedding I have been in the bride always is part of the rehersal

Answer 8

At my rehearsal it was mostly me. But I did have a stand in for a bit so I could move around the church and see for myself from a variety of vantage points the best placement for the wedding party, how things looked, pacing, etc. (I used a date of one of the groomsmen since she wasn't in the wedding party). But it was mostly because I'm somewhat of a control-a-holic and wanted to see for myself how it would look for my guests. I was able to make minor adjustments that made a big difference (I think). But I was the one that rehearsed with the minister the order, etc.


Perhaps somewhere you read or heard about a similar thing.

Answer 9

Of course the bride is in the rehearsal otherwise it'd be her "stand in" being the one getting married and being told what to do, what to say, where to stand. Sorry where ever you got your info they were wrong.

Answer 10

the bride participates