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So, we’ve prepared some tips about the order of wedding procession to make your bridal march shipshape.
First, let’s have a glance at the traditional wedding processional order. Check the Infographic.
Traditional Wedding Processional Order
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Mother of the Bride
Probably you’ve seen in movies different wedding processionals, but usually, the bride’s mother goes first. When she comes, it’s a sign for all the guests that the ceremony has begun. When she reaches the end of the aisle, she takes her seat which is on the first left row. According to Jewish tradition, a mother also accompanies a father and a bride at the end of the wedding processional. Make the note in your ultimate wedding checklist to inform your family about the wedding position.
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Groom
Next to come is The Groom. Usually, he goes through the aisle and takes his place near the Altar. Now and then young couples decide on the groom’s parent’s escort. If it is so, they will sit in the front right now. In some wedding processional orders, the Groom might come in with the Best Man.
Best Man
The Best Man is the third important person at the wedding. In most countries and cultures, The Best Man not only assists the groom but also is a legal witness to the marriage. The Best Man can enter the venue with wedding party entrances and walk along the aisle, or he can just walk from the side and stay next to the groom. The Best Man’s duty is to hold the groom’s ring or sometimes both of the rings.
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Groomsmen
The Groomsmen are those nice people who arrange all the guests at their places during the wedding processional. Not an easy job to do. So, it’s highly recommended for them to come to the venue an hour earlier to check if everything is consistent with a wedding protocol and ready for the big day. The Groomsmen enter the procession one by one or all together. They walk down the aisle and stand by the groom’s side, anticipating his entrance. In some wedding professionals, The Best Man comes last with the groomsmen.
Officiant
The officiant is an honored and important person at the ceremony. He may go down the aisle together with the participants of the wedding processional, or come in from the side room. Officiant stands in front of the Altar close to the groom. There is a tradition when a bride asks her officiant some questions before the wedding. You may put a question to him on, for example,where to get a marriage license or about some religious instructions, or just ask for his blessing.
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Bridesmaids
The bridesmaids’ role is to help and assist the bride during the wedding preparations with the Matron of Honor. Briefly, their most important duty is to organize an unforgettable bachelorette party. At the wedding procession, when the bridesmaids come, it means that the bride herself is coming soon. They usually enter one-by-one. It happens quite often that the groomsmen accompany the bridesmaids and then wait for Bride and Groom near the Altar.
Maid/Matron of Honor
The Matron of Honor is a right-hand lady of the bride. During preparations, she assists the bride, helps her with the dress and veil, and keeps an eye on her look until the bride’s entrance to a wedding processional. During the ceremony, the Matron of Honor goes after the bridesmaids and then stands on the bride’s side near the Altar. Sometimes keeping the groom’s ring is also her duty. If you’re too busy preparing for the wedding, don’t forget to ask your Maid to help you with the best registry items. Choosing gifts is such a challenging and time-consuming business, isn’t it?
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Flower Girl/Ring Bearer
Now it’s almost high time for the bride to appear, but due to quite ancient traditions, she has to let the small angels ahead. The angels who are flower girls and ring bearers are the last part before the bride’s arrival. It’s very common to invite a boy and girl to this role. The girl has a basket of flowers, which she throws as she walks. The ring bearer holds the rings and then hands them off to the best man. If you’re not sure about giving real rings to a child, you may use a decoy. According to wedding planning schedules, you should start preparing children for this responsible event about a month in advance.
Bride And Her Father
At last, here is the Bride escorted by her father on her right. Her entrance marks the end of the wedding processional. When they come to the Altar, the father will “trust” his daughter to the groom, lift the veil and give a bride a blessing kiss for love and happiness after changing your name after marriage. Then he joins the bride’s mother in the front row.
So, here is the typical wedding processional order. But remember, there’s no identical wedding. For example, a Christian ceremony features a bit different order of procession. Just look through the Infographic.
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Catholic Wedding Processional Order
In Catholic wedding processional order, it’s important that the Officiant goes first. The Groom will come in only after the Mother of the Bride, grandparents, and parents of the groom.
The Best man and Maid of Honor join the ceremony together.
Jewish Wedding Processional Order
In Jewish traditions, the groom’s family sits on the left and the bride’s family occupies the right side of the aisle. Here is the infographic of the Jewish wedding processional.
Nowadays couples improvise with wedding processional orders, wedding-related festivities, bridal teams, dress code, and everything. It’s up to you whether you want a classical wedding ceremony or a modern one, but be sure you have everything under control. To keep everything planned for your big day, use wedding ceremony timeline. The very best of luck!
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