Make a checklist, and check it twice!

When planning a wedding, we spend a lot of time planning a lot of things. Flowers, linens, food, cake, music, dress, the list is very long. While all wedding details are important, I’ve learned there are a few key ceremony details that are often overlooked! Let’s jump into 3 ceremony details that should be at the TOP of your planning checklist:

1. Microphones

Microphones can make or break a ceremony. Especially an outdoor ceremony. Think about it, your guests have traveled from near and far to witness you marry your best friend and they can’t even hear you say “I do”! It totally takes away the sentiment of the ceremony. You want your guests in happy tears, not leaning forward with a “huh?” look on their faces!

A lot of times DJ’s, videographers, or other musicians included in the ceremony will provide a lapel mic and body pack to clip on the groom’s lapel or the officiant’s shirt/dress. Be sure to ask all of your ceremony vendors if they provide a lapel mic, lavalier, or regular microphone well in advance!  

If none of your ceremony vendors have a lavalier, ask your venue. They just might have one stored away somewhere.

If all else fails, you can purchase a small amplifier and microphone system on Amazon. This may not be a top notch system, but it will definitely help! Just be sure the small speaker faces your guests so the sound projects towards them.

2. Ushers

Man oh man I wish we had ushers at our wedding. This was a detail I remember saying “Oh we don’t need ushers, our guests can find their own seats.” WRONG-O. We had approximately 170 people at our wedding and about 120 of them sat in the back right corner of ceremony seating, leaving the front seating almost completely empty! I remember looking out at the crowd from the alter thinking ” OMG NO ONE CAME!” until I looked over to the back rows and noticed that’s where everyone was.

It was seriously like in school when no one sat in the front rows! I’m sure no one noticed except for me, but the ceremony would have looked so much more full if the seats were filled correctly.

If I could do it again, I would have asked 4 guys to usher in our guests. I would have given them specific instructions to fill the first few rows with family, then *politely* guide the rest of the guests to fill up rows from the front to the back. If it had been done this way I would have  seen all 170 of my favorite faces right in front of me!

3. “Unplugged Ceremony” Sign

Y’all, I wish I could tell you that people have picked up on the fact that cell phones and cameras are rude to use during a wedding ceremony, but they most certainly have not. IT GRINDS MY GEARS.

Guests sometimes don’t think that pulling out their cell phones during a wedding is a problem, but really, it is. A wedding ceremony is just that, a ceremony. It is sacred, intimate, and meaningful. It would be like pulling out and holding up your cell phone during church or a royal induction ceremony (dramatic, but I’m currently watching Princess Diaries). A bride wants to look out and see her guest’s faces, not their cell phones!

Also, you are paying paid big bucks to have a professional photographer there to capture your special moments, it would be a shame to ruin those pictures with iPads and cell phones in the background.

Be sure to ask your officiant to make a “please turn off your cell phones and cameras” announcement before the ceremony begins. For double communication, set a cute “Unplugged Ceremony” sign at the ceremony entrance. You can find SO many sign options on Etsy, but here is one I think is especially cute: Unplugged Ceremony Sign

You’re Ready!

Now that you’ve added these three details to your ceremony planning list, you are ready to have the most beautiful, intimate, and logistically-sound ceremony you could dream of!

Happy Wedding Planning!

xoxo,

Sammy

Interested in having the Jackson & June Events team plan, coordinate, or design your big day? Find out more here!