How does the wedding rehersal play out?

Question

My wedding rehersal is Friday and I have only been to like two in my life....how does this play out, what do we do? We aren't doing it at the chruch and my best friend got officiated to marry us so I am sort of in the dark. It's a cookout at my fiance's parents house too....so very informal.

I already know the best man will be late due to work and picking up the tux but I want to know if he really needs to be there or if we can do the big stuff without him then when he gets there introduce him to who he is escorting.

Answer 1

You just need to decide who is standing where and where everyone will walk in from. Your friend could go over what she/he will say and what everyone is to do. It will take a few minutes. You can tell the best man later on exactly what to do or you can have wait for him to rehearse.

Best wishes on your wedding. It sounds great.

Answer 2

If you have a friend or family member that has been to a lot of weddings, or is married and feels comfortable handling this, ask them to help out. Basically, you pair up the groomsmen and bridesmaids and they practice the entire ceremony from start to finish. You need to know exactly what you want to happen in the ceremony, maybe even write it down before hand and give it to the officiant, so that the practice runs smoothly and doesn't take too long. The ushers should practice seating the grandparents and mothers. The groomsmen should stand at the front, the bridesmaids should practice walking, you should practice walking with your escort (some people are supersticious about that, so do what you feel comfortable with) The officiant should give a brief rundown of what he will say and how you should answer. You should practice any songs, readings, additions to the ceremony, anyone else that has a part in the ceremony should practice (like mothers lighting the unity candle.) Everyone should practice walking back down the aisle together as couples. Everyone should feel comfortable with their parts. Start on time and have someone fill in whoever can't be there. Make sure everyone knows what time they need to be where for the following day. Good luck!

Answer 3

Have everyone show up and meet and greet. Step by step roll through all of the various elements. If you are using a PA system those people who will be mic'd need to have sound levels set. The processional should be practiced all the way through with music and little kids. Anything else with tight timing should be walked through so everyone knows all of whats going on.

Lastly have fun and relax.... it will work out fine in the end.

Answer 4

it really helps to have the music with you at the time. it helps the other people know how long they should take to walk down the aisle in case you have song changes and you want to come out at a certain part.

the bridesmaids are shown where to stand and how to move your dress so it looks all pretty. the mothers are shown where the candles will be lit (if you have any).

it usually takes an hour to show how it all goes, who walks who and when the guys come back to walk the mommas back out.

Answer 5

basically you need to "practice" the ceremony from start to finish so that on the big day everyone knows where they are supposed to go and when everything happens during the ceremony. whoever is doing the music (live or CD) needs to know how much music is needed and when it is during the ceremony, readers need to know what they are doing, etc. is this the first wedding your friend is doing? have you already "written out" the ceremony?