Wedding ceremony order
Secular wedding ceremony order
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
The officiant greets everyone, seats them, and says why they are here.
How they met
Their story, told from the front of the room.
Readingoptional
A friend or family member reads.
On marriage
A short reflection on what they are promising each other.
Vows
Their promises — repeated after the officiant, or read from their own cards.
Ring exchange
The rings, with the words that go with them.
Pronouncement
The officiant pronounces them married.
The kiss
The kiss, and the room reacting.
Recessional
The couple is presented, and walks 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.