Are you getting married this year? Are you officiating a wedding? Check out the video and transcript below where wedding officiant Shawn Miller shares how to start a ceremony.
Video transcript:
Hey, what’s up friends? My name is Shawn, this is Tootsie. I’m a full-time wedding officiant. I’m the founder and owner of Young Hip & Married, and it’s my job to make sure you have the best wedding ceremony ever. If you’re officiating a wedding or you’re getting married, how are you going to start the wedding ceremony?
We kind of all know the ceremony is not everyone’s favourite part of the wedding. Okay, I get that. I’ve been officiating for 12 years; I know people don’t look forward to the wedding ceremony, right? People often think when the ceremony’s over they’re like, when can I get a drink? When can the fun begin?
When I officiate a wedding, there are a few things that I do to really kick the ceremony off, to make sure the guests know this is going to be a good time. Here’s how I start a wedding ceremony.
Officiant introduction
I introduce myself. “Hey friends, my name is Shawn. I have the privilege of officiating today.” That’s it for introductions – nothing about my company, nothing about what I do, nothing about how long I’ve been officiating. This is not the officiant show. This is about the couple. Okay, so just quickly introduce myself.
Housekeeping announcements
Next I give them any house announcements that need to happen – turn your phones off, etc. I also give them instructions about what’s happening after the ceremony, such as, once the bride and groom have left, here’s what’s gonna happen, you need to exit out into the foyer, we gotta flip the room for the reception, stuff along those lines after that.
Guest involvement
I like to tell guests, “Today, friends, is a celebration. I know when you go to a wedding typically you’re asked to sit there nicely with your hands folded in your lap. That is not the case today. What I would like to do is get you a little bit involved in the wedding ceremony. In fact, if you want to cheer for these two, if you want to clap for them, that is strongly encouraged!”
The big countdown
I continue, “So what I would like to do to get us all in the celebratory mood is kick the celebration off a little bit differently. What I would like to do is I’m gonna count down: 3, 2, 1, and want everybody to say ‘Let the wedding begin!’ and I want you to give them a really loud round of applause. This is gonna accomplish a couple of things. One, it’s gonna get us into that celebratory mood; we’re gonna clap, we’re gonna cheer, it’s gonna make us feel great. Two, it’s gonna let our bride and groom know that you’re excited to be here. And three, it’s gonna cue our musician or our DJ, they’re gonna know to start the music!”
Alright, so here we go, 3, 2, 1, and then everyone screams: Let the wedding begin! Music comes on, and everyone’s amped, everyone’s excited, great energy, and often what happens is when the groom comes in, people clap and cheer.
These four steps are a great way to start a wedding ceremony off in a really fun and super engaging way. Give it a try for your wedding!
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