For me, figuring out what to include and not include in my wedding ceremony was one of the harder parts of wedding planning. There were so many things — and people — I wanted to incorporate into the ceremony, but I also wanted to keep the ceremony an easy-to-sit-through length.

Are there things I would change about my ceremony in hindsight? Yes. I would have had more singing. A hymn or two. But that’s all I would change. Danny and I decided not to write out own vows (which is a topic we’ll save for another blog post!); we asked our pastor to do a full Gospel presentation; we held hands through the whole ceremony. It was absolutely wonderful.

What I wanted for my ceremony might be entirely different from what you want for your ceremony, though. So how do you decide what to include or not include? Ask yourself this questions about each element you’re considering for your ceremony:

“Will this element add to my ceremony in a meaningful way, or only in the amount of time spent?”
If the answer is yes, work it in to your ceremony. If the answer is no and it’s just something you felt obligated to include, decide whether it’s something you can reasonably skip. This is your wedding ceremony, after all. Make it meaningful.

~ Laura