Wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses

Choice of Wedding Ceremonies

There are three major types of wedding ceremonies. Choose a format that is sensitive to your guests and make sure your choice can accommodate their needs. Also, if your parents or other relatives are contributing to the cost, it is really important to consider their feelings and wishes.

Church Wedding

If you are contemplating a church wedding, you may find that some priests require couples who are not members of their parish to attend services at the church for a period of time before the wedding. The minister may even suggest that you both undertake some form of pre-marriage education through the church organisation. These requirements can vary between denominations.

It is vital for the couple to have at least one interview with their minister before the wedding. Some basic religious instruction may be required of any partner who is of a different religion or denomination. The minister can also discuss arrangements like music (cd or an organist), a choir, timing of the songs, bells and the fees you required to pay. You can also discuss the wording for the vows as some couples like to include original words of their own, or quote a favourite poem or passage. However, these will still need to fit into the format of the requirements of the church.

Here is a brief summary of the traditional order of service for a church wedding :

  1. The groom, best man and groomsmen enter the church and sit in the first pew on the right hand side (looking to the altar) of the church.
  2. Guests arrive and are ushered to their seats. The bride's family and guests are seated on the left side of the church and the groom's family and guests to the right.
  3. The organist begins to play.
  4. The bride's mother arrives and is escorted to the front pew on the left hand side.
  5. The minister enters. The groom and his attendants rise and move forward to stand before the altar, just to the right of the aisle.
  6. The flower girls enter the church followed by the bride and her father. The bride holds her father's right arm. The bridesmaids follow and the party moves up the aisle.
  7. The bride's father presents her to the groom and thus 'gives her away'.
  8. The minister moves forward and gives an opening address, followed by prayers and any readings.
  9. The marriage vows are exchanged.
  10. The couple, their witnesses and the minister move aside to sign the register.
  11. The couple lead the way out of the church, followed by their attendants, with the bride on the left of the groom.

Civil Celebrant Wedding

A civil celebrant wedding will give you much more freedom in format. Scope for individual touches is unlimited in a civil ceremony, because your choice of venues and themes is unlimited. You're in a great position to 'design your own' wedding and celebrants have their own ideas and experiences to contribute. Celebrants have performed weddings in unusual places such as on boats, on beaches, on aircraft etc. etc.

A civil celebrant is also ideal for the surprise wedding. This involves the guests being totally unaware that the celebration or party they've been invited to, is actually going to include a wedding ceremony. Christmas get-togethers are ideal for this scenario.

Because this type of wedding is only meant to be a surprise to your guests, not to yourselves, rehearse and plan it efficiently with those are also in on the plan. Civil celebrants are quite happy to perform weddings at their own home, in a public park or restaurant or in a home or back garden at your request.

Civil celebrant ceremonies can be short or more formal. You are free to choose whatever style of music you wish, whether it's classical, jazz or contemporary and particularly many couples choose songs that have held a special meaning to them throughout their relationship.

Outdoor ceremonies are obviously best done in Spring or Summer because of the weather, so even consider marrying on a Sunday if that's the only day your celebrant is available in the time frame you want. If the reception is indoors, Sunday is considered an 'off peak' time and it may be possible to negotiate a discount with the reception venue. Civil celebrants can sometimes provide extra services for a fee, like supplying tables, chairs, public address systems and miscellaneous items that may be needed.

Registry Office Weddings

The simplest and most inexpensive weddings are those conducted on week days in a Registry Office. The popularity of Registry Weddings is definitely increasing in Australia and is actually considered quite trendy! Most Registry Offices have specially decorated marriage and waiting rooms. The most popular days are Fridays and Mondays. Make sure you give the Registry Office plenty of notice if you plan to marry on either of those days.

At least two witnesses are required and you can also invite a bridal party and guests. As a courtesy, limit your guest list to the size of the Registry Office. The bride, groom, witnesses, bridal party and guests must be ready when their turn arrives, so insist that everyone arrives about 10 minutes ahead of the appointment time. Registrars currently charge between $200-$300 to lodge a 'Notice of Intended Marriage' and to perform the ceremony in their premises.

Photographs and videos may be taken at any stage during the ceremony. Do dress accordingly for this type of ceremony. It is perfectly acceptable to wear an informal wedding dress if you wish and carry a bouquet etc. You may also decorate the wedding room with flower arrangements if you wish. Soft music is played during the ceremony and you are welcome to provide your own CD or cassette. The Registry Office can issue a fully certified copy of the marriage certificate after the ceremony for $40.