The wedding processional is a tradition almost as old as time. The traditional wedding processional varies by culture and religion. All these traditions are beautiful and meaningful; however, many couples today differ or vary from the traditional. Your wedding processional should be as special and tailored to you as all the other elements of your big day, so here is a step-by-step of how to go about including all the special people in your life in your wedding processional!
Step 1: Make a list of everyone you want to walk down the aisle. Don’t be afraid if it is uneven or doesn’t make sense at this stage! There are many options to fix this later!
Step 2: Decide who will escort the bride down the aisle. This is the most important step. Brides, don’t be afraid to do whatever feels right for you! It’s okay if your escort is traditional like your dad, or unconventional like your best friend. Some ideas for this are: dad and bride, groom and bride, mom and bride, both parents with bride, son/daughter with bride, grandfather/grandmother with bride, father of the groom and bride.
Step 3: Who is officiating your wedding? Are they walking down the aisle? If yes, when and with an escort? Determining this will help you start to determine your processional order.
Step 4: Start in the middle. I know, it sounds weird, but starting with the bridal party will make everything else easier. First, determine how many bridesmaids and groomsmen you have and if they will be walking in pairs or not. If they are walking in pairs, assign them to one another in the order you would like them to stand up at the ceremony site (start furthest from you and end with closest to you). If they are not walking in pairs, how are they walking? We have seen every other (bridesmaid, groomsman, bridesmaid, groomsman, etc.), all the groomsmen then all the bridesmaids, and even each bridesmaid and groomsman walking with their own plus one!
Step 5: Use the “traditional” order and personalize as you go. Usually the order goes: officiant, grandparents/honored guests, parents (that are not walking with Bride or Groom), Groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen, ring bearer, flower girl, Bride and her escort. Fill in these roles with the names of your list you made in step 1.
Step 6: Move around the line-up as needed to personalize it to your needs! Don’t worry if some people are left walking alone at this stage, simply put your list in your ideal order.
Step 7: After you have the order and special details taken care of, go back through the list and assign escorts to those who may need it. For example, say dad is walking the bride down the aisle, then a younger sibling, cousin, or family friend can walk with your mom. It’s okay to add people into your line up that weren’t on your original list. It is also totally acceptable for people to walk by themselves if they and you are comfortable with it.
Step 8: The last step is to write it down in an order you and your coordinator can understand. We like to use the sheet below and number each pair. Below is an example.
Remember that this is YOUR big day! The most important thing is that you and your spouse-to-be are making promises of love that will begin a whole new chapter of your lives together. Don’t worry about being “too different” or “too traditional” just do what feels right for you and your wedding!