Making Memories Together: Tips To Include Guests in Your Ceremony
Your wedding day is the greatest celebration of your love, as well as the cherished relationships that have shaped your journey together - your family and friends. Amid the vows, rings, and “I dos is a golden opportunity to weave your guests into your ceremony and create spectacular moments that will personalize it beyond the vow exchange :)
To help you, Vow Perfect curated a list of fun, meaningful, and engaging ways to involve your guests! These are guaranteed to transform your shared experience of love, laughter, and lasting memories - we even marked our favourites!
Ceremony Selfie: per recent trend, many couples request a selfie with the officiant – even cooler is a selfie with the couple, officiant, and the guests!
A Rose Ceremony for Mothers: this is a heartfelt ritual in which the couple honours their mothers by presenting them with a rose during the ceremony. It represents gratitude, love, and respect for the moms’ roles in the couples’ lives and the support dear moms have provided.
Plan a Surprise and let your guests in on it! Planning a flash mob to dance down the aisle to, or planning to play your spouse’s favourite song? Let your guests in on the surprise and recruit their help!
End it with a Party! As you make your way back up the aisle (after the kiss), let loose and celebrate! This is a perfect time to get the wedding party started with your guests. Play upbeat music and invite others to dance; or, hand out bubbles for guests to blow your way as you exit your ceremony.
Ask for Marriage Advice: a more personal – and sentimental, way to involve your guests is to ask them for their best piece of marriage advice. You can place a card under their seats for them to fill our while we sign legal documents. Or you can offer a notebook near the ceremony :)
Walk with Both Parents: Walking down the aisle? Invite both parents to walk with you. They both raised you. They both loved and supported you – why leave either one out?
Can I Get a Witness? A great way to honour your guests is to ask them to be your witnesses! Make it fun and draw two names from a hat, which we can do right before the legal signing.
The Sing Along: you don’t have to wait until the reception to get the party started! If music is important to your relationship, or you have a song you both love, you can absolutely ask your guests to sing along with you! Hip Hop or Celine, we’re here for it all.
Circle of Love: Really want to feel the love and energy of your guests? Arrange chairs so that your guests surround you and your spouse through a circle, with the two of you in the centre.
Write Your Vows: nothing engages guests like a personalized ceremony – and there is nothing more personal than the vows you write (or Vow Perfect helps you write). Guests love words from the heart!
Include Guests in Your Love Story: with a custom ceremony, Vow Perfect writes your unique love story, which can include the friends who helped plan your engagement or your dad who knew this was the man for you! Any guest would be honoured to be included in your ceremony script.
Unity Ceremony: invite your guests to participate in a unity ceremony, such as a tree planting, candle lighting, merging of sand – better yet, taking a shot or champagne together!
Guest Vows: invite your guests to offer their well wishes or special vows during the ceremony.
The Ring Warming: in a small bag, pass your wedding bands around to the guests before the ceremony starts. Let each guest hold and infuse them with good wishes and energy!
Guest Photographer: give a guest (or two) a job! Invite them to take photos during the ceremony and share them with you after. For a nifty take on this, use an Instant camera! This will provide you with different perspectives and memories of the special day.
Virtual guests: give them a shout-out! Live streamed ceremonies are a thing in 2024. And streaming the ceremony is a sure option! Make your virtual guests feel welcome by waving to them and giving them a special welcome during the ceremony intro.