Wedding Rehearsal: Checklist, How-to and FAQ

You might be wondering if a rehearsal is necessary. Honestly, you’ll probably be fine if you skip it. But there’s a few great reasons to do one.

You want to make sure everyone knows what to do, and when. You also need to be sure that your plan works. It’s one thing to picture the ceremony in your head. It’s another thing in real life, with real people, doing something they’ve never done before.

If you want to keep it simple, just follow the wedding rehearsal checklist. After you finish, you can be sure that your wedding ceremony will go perfectly.

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Is a Wedding Rehearsal Necessary?

If your wedding ceremony is at a place of worship, or a venue that has lots of experience with weddings, your ceremony should go pretty smoothly. Whether you rehearse or not. Most couples like to do a run through the day before, just to make sure everything will go as planned.

If you’re planning a DIY wedding or an unusual location, a rehearsal can help to make sure nothing goes wrong on the big day. Even if you’ve planned everything on paper, there’ll still be small differences in person.

If you do a walkthrough, you can make sure the aisle is in the right spot. You can make sure your music is long enough. And you can be positive that all the details will come together on your wedding day.

A rehearsal is especially helpful if you’re worried about nerves on the big day. Doing a walk through will help everyone feel more confident about their roles on the wedding day.

What Happens at a Wedding Rehearsal?

You won’t rehearse the whole ceremony. You’ll just rehearse walking in and walking out. You’ll check to make sure there’s space for everyone. If you’re at a non-traditional wedding venue, it’s important to make sure everything will flow the way you’ve planned it.

The wedding party will take their places and practice walking up the aisle. You can check that the music is working and the person in charge has the songs and the song list.

If the officiant is present, they shouldn’t perform the whole ceremony. Typically, they’ll give an overview of each part of the ceremony. They’ll tell the maid of honor and best man when they’ll present the rings. They’ll also make sure any readers know when to stand and read.

How Long Does a Wedding Rehearsal Take?

Typically a wedding rehearsal takes between half an hour and forty five minutes. If you’ve got a big bridal party or a religious ceremony, your rehearsal might take a bit longer.

Who Attends the Wedding Rehearsal?

Anyone who has a role in the wedding ceremony should be at the rehearsal. Some officiants include a rehearsal in their package, some don’t. If your officiant doesn’t offer rehearsal services, you can practice without them. Most officiants have enough practice that they’ll be great on the day of.

Your bridal party will need to practice the processional and recessional. The flower girl and ring bearer should be able to make a dry run up the aisle. If you’re having readers, they’ll probably appreciate a chance to practice ahead of time.

Bride and Groom
Parents
Maid of Honor
Best Man
Bridesmaids
Groomsmen
Flower Girl
Ring Bearer
Readers
Ushers

Who’s in Charge of the Wedding Rehearsal?

If you have a wedding planner or a day of coordinator, they’ll usually run the wedding rehearsal. If your officiant is attending the rehearsal, you can ask them to be in charge. Or if you’re doing DIY, you can run the rehearsal yourself.

Traditional Processional Order

There is a traditional order for a wedding procession, but you should feel free to mix it up. Some brides decide to walk with both parents. Some decide to walk with their mother. Some brides decide to walk themselves. Some couples will decide to walk up together.

Don’t feel like you have to stick to a certain script if it doesn’t suit your family or your values. Decide who has played an important role in your life and honor them with a place in your wedding ceremony.

Typical Order for a Wedding Processional:

Mother of the Bride
Groom
Best Man and Maid of Honor
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
Bride and her Father

Things to Bring to Your Wedding Rehearsal

Fake Bridal Bouquet

During the ceremony you’ll need your hands free to exchange rings. Usually, the bride hands her bouquet to the maid of honor when she arrives at the front. You’ll want to practice the hand-off during your rehearsal.

If you’ve had a bridal shower, your maid of honor might have made you a fake bouquet from the leftover ribbons and bows that you can bring. If not, you can make yourself a little posy or bouquet from paper or any DIY leftovers that you have.

Empty Ring Boxes

You don’t want to take out your official rings until your wedding day. But you’ll want to practice taking your rings from the maid of honor and/or the best man during the rehearsal. You can bring some empty ring boxes, or just fake it when it’s time to practice the exchange.

Wedding Rehearsal Checklist

Once everyone has arrived at the ceremony venue, you can begin the rehearsal. The best way to start is by arranging the entire bridal party in their places for the ceremony.

Instead of beginning with everyone at the back, start with everyone at the front. That way, when people are walking, they’ll know the spot they’re heading for.

1. Decide Where Everyone Will Stand

Since this is the most important part of the ceremony, spend some time figuring out where each person will stand. If the bridal party will be seated during any parts of the ceremony, make sure they know when and where to sit.

2. Decide How Everyone Will Stand

This sentence sounds a bit dumb, but make sure everyone knows how to stand. They probably think they already know how to stand! But here’s the thing: if each person is standing differently, it’ll look weird in the photos.

Make sure the bridesmaids are holding their bouquets in the same position, at the same height. Have the groomsmen choose a position for everyone. They should all either clasp their hands in front, in back or hold them at their sides. If your group can keep the same positions, it’ll look great in the photos.

2. Practice the Processional

Now that everyone knows where they’ll be standing, you can head to the back of the church and start practicing your processional.

3. Arriving at the Front

If your maid of honor is arranging your train, wait until she’s finished. Then hand off your bouquet to her.

4. Run Through the Ceremony Highlights

There’s no need to go through the entire ceremony, but everyone should know when they’ll need to perform. Pretend to take the rings from the best man and/or maid of honor. If you’ve got readers, give them a chance to take their places and get a bit of practice.

5. Prepare for the Recessional

Take your bouquet back from the maid of honor. Turn to face your guests. Pose a minute for photos, then begin the recessional back down the aisle.

6. If You’re Having a Receiving Line

If you’re having a receiving line right away, make sure everyone knows where it’ll be and where to line up. Some couples have the receiving line at the reception. Make sure your bridal party knows where they’re heading once you reach the end of the aisle.

What Happens After the Wedding Rehearsal?

After the ceremony rehearsal, all the attendees are invited to a wedding rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner is a chance to thank everyone for attending.

Most couples hand out thank you gifts at the rehearsal dinner. The bride and groom usually take the opportunity to thank everyone for their support and help during the wedding planning. So as soon as your ceremony rehearsal is done, everyone can head straight to the dinner!

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