What happens before the wedding ceremony?

A wedding order of service is the key to ensuring that your ceremony runs as smoothly as possible. With the help of the wedding order of service, your guests, bridesmaids and ushers will all know exactly how the ceremony is running and this means that everyone will be in the right place at the right time.

But it is useful for the bride and groom to make themselves familiar with how the ceremony will run well in advance of the big day, to ensure that there are no last minute problems.

The wedding ushers arrive around 45 minutes before the ceremony begins. It is their job to welcome guests and direct them as to where they should go. They also hand out the order of service.

The groom and best man arrive next and await the bride. As guests continue to arrive, they should be seated accordingly with the bride’s guests sitting on the left and the groom’s on the right. Close family sit at the front of the church.

The bride is last to enter with her father and bridesmaids. The service is then ready to begin and the wedding order of service will outline the order in which the ceremony will run.