1. Not thinking about mum, dad, granny and grandpa – and what they can see!
Those who stick to the traditional ‘bride’ and ‘groom’ side of the aisle, haven’t really given thought to what those family members can actually see during the ceremony. If the bride’s family sit on ‘her’ side, odds are they will have a great view of the groom’s face, but be looking at the back of the bride’s head the whole time.
Think about poor Grandma not being able to see her Grandson! A travesty!
2: Not giving proper thought to ‘cocktail hour’
There are a couple of different ways to run a ‘cocktail hour’, and if you stick to an hour to take your wedding photos somewhere closeby, odds are your guests will be fine with a few seats and some roaming champagne. However, if you plan to be gone longer – and in my experience – most couples do take more than an hour – you need to think a little more intently about canapes, drinks, and somewhere comfortable to sit during that time. The alternative is to have a 3-4 hour gap between the ceremony and reception so that people can go home and freshen up, or head to a local pub, but honestly, this option is only really appropriate for a city-central wedding, where home is not too far away for most people.
3: Not opting to make the ceremony reflect ‘you’ as a couple
In my dealings with my couples, I find that many of them have this preconceived idea of what a wedding ceremony should be, even down to the ‘for better for worse, for richer or poorer’ line that they use in the movies. The reality is that there is no limit to what your ceremony can be. It can be fun! It can be intimate, it can be inclusive of your guests, it can be at the beach at 7am! There is no end to the places we can take you ceremony, from ‘witness bingo’, to flash mobs, to movie line readings, whatever you dream up – can happen!
This is due to the fact that there are only three parts that have to happen in a wedding ceremony for it to be legally binding; the Monitum, which is the definition of marriage in Australia, the legal vows, which are just a few lines and have to be spoken word for word, and the signing of the certificates. Packaged up, your ceremony could go for only 5 minutes if that’s what you wanted!
By Olivia Mackinnon
Head of Content, and authorised Marriage Celebrant
