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Ceremony Line up for Christian &
Jewish The processional and altar lineups for formal Christian and Jewish
weddings are illustrated below. During the Christian ceremony,
the bride meets the groom at the altar, and her parents remain
seated throughout the wedding service. In the Jewish wedding,
the bridal couple is escorted down the aisle by both sets of parents
who remain standing during the ceremony.

1. Bride 2. Groom 3. Maid Of Honor 4. Best Man 5. Bridesmaids 6. Ushers 7. Flower Girl 8. Ring Bearer 9. Father of the Bride 10. Mother of the Bride 11. Father of the Groom 12. Mother of the Groom 13. Clergymember 14. Cantor 15. Bride's Grandfather 16. Bride's Grandmother 17. Groom Grandfather 18. Groom's Grandmother
Choosing Your Wedding
Vows
Thinking about
writing your own wedding vows? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of
couples are bypassing traditional ceremonies in favor of something
that’s more personal – and that’s great! But problems arise when
couples aren’t clear with each other about the style of vows they
want. What mood do you want to convey? Light-hearted and cute? Short
and sweet? Witty? Sentimental? There are almost as many styles of
vows as there are vows themselves. Here’s a quick guide to a few of
the more popular styles to help you choose the one that best suits
you and your spouse-to-be.
Traditional
Yes, you can still
be “traditional” even if you aren’t sticking to the prepared wedding
vow script. If you are aiming to be very traditional, all you need
to do to prepare is to look up a traditional wedding vow, such as
those that begin with phrases such as, “In the name of God,” or
“From this moment, I (name) promise to take you (name), to be my
wife/husband…” and so on and so forth. Once you find a traditional
vow you like, rewrite it to fit your own personal feelings towards
your partner.
Sentimental
If you wish to
write a romantic wedding vow, and you are not endowed with the gift
of poetry, you can look into reading some famous love poetry – for
example, sonnets by Shakespeare -- and see if you can use one of
their ideas as a way to express your feelings about your partner.
You may even wish to quote the poet directly, by referring to lines
in their poem. You can also think about the love songs that you will
be using during your special day, and see if the lyrics of these
songs can help you to express the way you feel.
Lighthearted and cute
If being
lighthearted and cute sounds fitting, you can go about implementing
this style in your wedding vows by first thinking of all the fond
memories you shared with your partner that really made you smile and
brought you closer together. Write down each one of these memories
and choose the one that you believe to be the most suited and
tasteful for your wedding. This style is an excellent way of
expressing how much you loved your partner before, and how much more
you love them now.
Witty
If you have a
sharp sense of wit, it could be one of the many characteristics that
your partner loves about you so much. Use your sense of wit to your
advantage by using tasteful humor to spice up a wedding vow by
making it romantically playful. However, as a strong word of
caution, if you’ve noticed no one seems to laugh at your jokes, or
you can never seem to get the punch-line of a joke, you may want to
fess up to your lack of wit and choose another style for your
wedding vows. You may also want to take into account that your sense
of wit may be something your partner tolerates with good humor,
while others may not be so kind.
Simple
Sometimes having a
simple style is the best way to go. A simple wedding vow is composed
of a few words that come straight from your heart. You don’t need to
serenade your partner with a self-composed sonnet. A simple “I love
you” and “I’m glad to be sharing my life with you,” along with a few
extra heart-felt words can be perfect.
Short and Sweet
Short and sweet
vows are very much like the simple wedding vow, except that a short
and sweet vow is limited in words, and the words used are often much
more concise and straight to the point. Poetry may help you to get
an idea of how to express your vows in this manner. However, be
mindful of vows that are too short and sweet. You may also discover
that although your vow is short, it might be lacking in the sweet
department. The last thing you want to do is prepare a short vow
that sounds emotionless. Once you have completed these seven steps,
you will be ready to start writing your vows. Remember, you don’t
have to be Shakespeare to write a vow that will touch the heart of
your partner. A wedding vow comes from the heart. Regardless of how
long you decide to make it, it is a personal expression and promise
that accentuates the love you have for your spouse-to-be. |