The Foundation On Which Your Entire Ceremony Will Rest
Your
audience has a need and right to see you, to hear you, and
to be entertained by what you've invited them to, and for what
they have
given up their time for. There are not exceptions to this.
If
your wedding ceremony is not enjoyed by everyone present- you
fail. Also, it is not enough
to simply recreate for your guests every wedding ceremony
they've already seen a dozen times. The typical wedding
ceremony - which has the couple's backs turned to their guests,
and which is virtually inaudible to all except those in the
first row, uses predictable music etc.,- is so numbing that
10% to 50% of those invited will skip it and attend the reception. I'll
show you how to change all of this by using a ceremony format
that's fun to watch and listen to, as well as emotionally
evocative. The success of your wedding ceremony lies
in engaging your audience; everything else is secondary to
this.
I
teach my couples to look at the people attending their wedding
as an audience and not
as guests. That's because guests are on your side. You can
have a boring and marginal wedding ceremony and your kind guests
will come up afterwards and tell you "Suzie,.. that was such
a beautiful wedding!"
An
audience however- is expecting something. If you were a theater
director and you put on theatric production that bombed you
can count on people walking out on it. You would also expect
to get bad reviews in the local press.
I
am asking you to earn the
respect
and complements of the friends and family you are inviting
to your ceremony. And you do that by seeing to all of their
needs. They shall be comfortable. They, and by that I mean
every one of them, must see and hear all that takes place
within that ceremony. And they shall be moved, heart and soul,
for
having attended it.
What
Breaking This Rule Looks Like... The bride and groom
are exchanging vows. They and their bridal party have turned
their backs to
their guests. We'll assume no audio amplification is present
as we see no speakers. Guests can neither see nor hear the
ceremony they're attending.
At
left, a woman marked A, with her head turned
up and to the right is blowing bubbles. Those bubbles are visible
above the guests on the right
side of the aisle. The gentleman she is with, marked B,
is leaning away from her and into the aisle to avoid having
soap
being blown on him. A woman marked C, is engaging
guests to her immediate left in conversation. All
have lost interest in the ceremony and
all have resorted to entertaining themselves while waiting
for it to end. Do you blame them? Would
you want a ceremony like this... one where guests don't even
know you're taking your vows?
What
Show Time Looks Like... Magnificently arrayed
before their guests stands the bride and groom and their beautiful
bridal party. This accomplishes several important objectives:
It makes the bride and groom the focal point of their ceremony-
not their minister. It enables every guest to see the bride
and groom and hear every word of their ceremony. It also produces
exceptional wedding photography. I as an officiant will speak
at times
from the center aisle, and at other times
alongside
the bride and groom facing the guests. All of my
words are heard as well.
If
your wedding is to be exceptional it will be because you made
it so. And the first rule in achieving that is to meet the
needs of your guests- they must see, hear, and be entertained
by your ceremony.
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