The Bride’s Survival Guide: Church Wedding

If the church is where you want your wedding to be conducted, then it is best you know some of the things to expect. Some couples feel that the best way to express their faith not only in their day to day lives, but also in their marriage is best to start it off in church.

Despite the religious factor, there are some beautiful churches, and thus, the best place to profess their love for each other. Planning a church wedding is good, but you will need to pay special considerations too.

Most couples opt to host their wedding in some unconventional places such as ranches, farms, historical homes and buildings, museums, public gardens, and even wineries. But if you are strong in faith, you might feel that the best thing to do is to hold your wedding in a church setting as it is your lifelong commitment.

Planning a church wedding denotes that you will need to adhere to some set rules which might pose a limitation as to how your ceremony will be carried out. But all these are not meant to suffocate you, but only to ensure that you respect the religion the way it deserves to.

So are you thinking about tying the knot in a church? The following are some of the important things you will need to remember so that your big day goes the way you dreamt of.

• There will be a need for your photographer to abide by some rules: When you plan a church wedding, you must be aware of the rules the church has regarding photography. Certain churches have guidelines that are very strict on what the photographer can and cannot do. There are those where no flash is allowed, certain angles of taking photos are not permitted, or when walking down the aisle, no photographing.
• There will be a limitation to music: Are you planning to hire your musicians? Wait first. You might be limited by the church to only use their band or instrumentalists. Apart from that, there might be certain types of songs which you will be requested to choose from for the recessional and processional part of your ceremony.

You have to remember that, the music limitation varies from one church to the next. There will be a need for you to inquire early on the type of songs allowed and which ones are not before you start deciding on a certain tune for your bridal party.

• You might not be able to get creative with the ceremony: While planning your church wedding, you might be thinking of how people will walk down the aisle during the processional and where they are going to stand. You have to remember that the church might have some rules that dictate the order in which your wedding party makes their entrance.

Never make a plan without involving the church on how the ceremony will be held because, in most instances, the church runs the show.

You might not be in a position to choose who is going to be the officiant at your wedding as the pastor or priest will automatically be the one to do it. You should know the officiant before the wedding day.

During your conversation, you can go ahead and ask all the questions that you might be having. The more you can ask, the higher the chances that you will get your expectations and wishes met. You will also reduce the risk of breaking church rules.

If you plan to have communion during the ceremony ask the officiant if it will be provided by the church or you need to arrange for one. You can also ask if there is room to bring in your wedding planner or if the church has their wedding ministry which assists in the whole thing.

• The availability of the church will be affected by holidays: Before you send out invites, you have to check the church’s events calendar. Observed holy days and holidays might be off for you. You have to also remember that many churches have great décor around holidays which could add a romantic and festive ambiance to your ceremony.

While it might not be possible for your wedding to take place on Christmas night or even Christmas eve, you can take advantage by planning for it, a week before to utilize the beautiful decorations for the holidays.

• Certain documents might be requested: Each church has its requirements, but most of them will require proof of confirmation, baptism, and confirmation. There are those which are strict when it comes to remarrying especially if you haven’t annulled your first marriage.

If you want to be cleared as soon as possible, get all the documents you’ll need in place by asking the church what will be required of you. Hand them to the church before you start planning for your church wedding. This will give you peace of mind as a lack of any document means that the church will not allow your wedding ceremony to happen in their church.