As the popular saying goes, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. Going through life without a plan is a sure recipe for failure. And this also applies for for wedding ceremonies. To make your wedding go according to plan, you definitely need to have a rehearsal. Everyone has to know their role and how well to play it, so that everything would be perfect on the D-day.

Wedding rehearsals take many forms. Aside the common “procession-recession practical”, there’s also the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner is meant for the two families to bond before the marriage. However, this practice isn’t really a Ghanaian thing. So let’s expand on the wedding rehearsal we’re all used to.

Daniel & Tracy’s pre-wedding glam

WHAT TO DO DURING YOUR WEDDING REHEARSAL

It’s usually not advisable for the bride or groom to lead their own rehearsal, for an obvious reason– they are part of the rehearsal itself. So delegating a friend or someone else in the family to do this is ideal. If you have a wedding planner, they should be in charge. Note that whoever is chosen has to be a bit ‘bossy’, in order to get things going 😉

After doing this, the next steps fall under running the rehearsal itself. Here are the order of events:

• Order of Procession

Some people suggest that you do this last. This way everything is faster because people would already know where to stand, sit and the walking pace. Anyhow you decide to go about this, it is the most important step. The Officiant, Groom, Best Man, and Groomsmen enter first. Following them are the grandparents, the parents of the Groom, and the Mother of the Bride. Finally, the Bridesmaids, Maid of Honor, and Flower Girls enter. After this, the bride and her father walk in and he hands her off with a kiss. Then the bride hands her bouquet to her maid of honour, and steps up next to the groom.

• Pace of the Walk

As the procession is being sorted out, one must determine the pace of the walk. To let everything look natural, it is advised to let everyone walk at their usual pace. A nice, normal, walk—in time to the music—is perfect and should be easy to do.

• Spacing

Spacing is also very important. Often, people leave 20-30 feet from each other when walking the aisle. However, this works well depending on the number of people walking with you. If they are many, it is better to keep them closer so that the music doesn’t end while they are still walking. You wouldn’t want anyone rushing in lol.

• Seating arrangement

A wedding rehearsal is incomplete if it doesn’t plan for the seating of the bridal party and guests. Usually, the parents sit on the first row aisle–on the opposite side of the aisle from their child. This way you can face your child instead of looking behind them. The wedding party can then be seated behind the maid of honor and groomsman respectively. But remember, not too close. Wedding party members on the left should have the same distance between them as those on the right, and be in the same general shape.

• Order of Recession

Now this is typically different from the procession– the couple recesses first. The Bride will take her bouquet from the Maid of Honor and exit with the Groom. They are followed by wedding party, often in pairs, and the officiant. Parents recess next, followed by the rest of the guests. Always remember not to rush through this process too. For it to flow beautifully, leave enough space between each pair. Most people choose to start walking when the couple before them is halfway back up the aisle.

Get all these right and your wedding would go without a flaw 😉

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