To rehearse or not to rehearse…
I am a big believer in the usefulness of a wedding rehearsal, but they’re absolutely not mandatory. If you’re having a simple ceremony with few elements, or you don’t have a wedding party or others involved who need to know where to go and what to do, I’m completely on board with skipping the rehearsal.
Having said that, I absolutely encourage an onsite rehearsal in any other circumstance. Why? What happens at a wedding rehearsal?
Rehearsing the logistics
The wedding rehearsal is an awesome opportunity for everyone to practise how to walk in, where to stand, and how to move between the different sections of the ceremony. This is especially useful for:
- anyone who will be walking the aisle to practise walking in to the music (the processional)
- the ring bearer to know when to bring the rings forward, and
- everyone to understand how the signing will work.
Making sure your ceremony vision fits in the space
The wedding rehearsal is a great time to ensure our vision for the ceremony will actually work in the space. I’ve run a rehearsal where we discovered the full wedding party wouldn’t fit in the traditional positions in the ceremony space. It was much better to discover this at the rehearsal and have time to come up with an alternative configuration, than to find out while the girls were walking the aisle!
Practising readings
If you are having anyone perform a reading, a marriage rehearsal is a perfect opportunity for them to rehearse with the microphone. Many people have never used a microphone before. They don’t know how to hold it or to best speak into it to ensure the best sound quality.
Demonstrating vows and rings logistics
I demonstrate to the couple how the vows and ring exchange are going to work logistically during a wedding rehearsal. With vow cards and microphones and rings to juggle, these sections can be tricky to manage. I like to make sure everyone has had a quick lesson in what to do. Of course on the day I’ll still be there to talk them through it!
Touching base with the venue
A wedding rehearsal is often your final opportunity to touch base with the venue staff and ensure everything is ready. This can be invaluable!
So all in all, I love rehearsals and I absolutely encourage them!
***Originally posted 24/01/2015, updated 01/03/2021***