Wedding ceremony order
Secular wedding ceremony order: every part, minute by minute
A secular wedding ceremony runs about 22 minutes and has 10 parts, from the processional to the recessional. 9 of them are the ones that make it a wedding; the rest are yours to keep or cut.
No scripture, no prayer. Built around the two of them and the people in the seats.
The running order
Times are clocked from a 4:00 PM start — slide the whole column to match yours.
Processional
The wedding party and then the couple come in.
Welcome
You greet everyone, seat them, and say why they are here.
How they met
Their story, told in your voice.
Readingoptional
A friend or family member reads.
On marriage
A short reflection on what they are promising each other.
Vows
Their promises — repeated after you, or read from their own cards.
Ring exchange
The rings, with the words that go with them.
Pronouncement
You pronounce them married.
The kiss
The kiss, and the room reacting.
Recessional
You present them and they walk back out.
Questions
How long is a secular wedding ceremony?
A secular wedding ceremony runs about 22 minutes and has 10 parts, from the processional to the recessional: processional 4, welcome 2, how they met 3, reading 2, on marriage 3, vows 3, ring exchange 2, pronouncement 1, the kiss 1, recessional 1 — minutes per part, worked out at a spoken pace of roughly 130 words a minute plus the movement around each one. These are the same figures the run-sheet uses.
What comes first in a secular wedding ceremony?
Processional. The wedding party and then the couple come in. It runs about 4 minutes, and it is what the clock starts on — 4:00 PM in the example below.
What can be left out of a secular wedding ceremony?
Reading — none of these is required, and cutting them is how you get the service back inside the time you were given. The rest carry the shape.
This is the shape. The words are the other half.
Answer some questions about the couple and get this running order filled in with a full word-for-word script, cue cards for each part, a rehearsal checklist, and your state’s license duties.