Are you looking to write a simple wedding ceremony script? When you are researching how to write a ceremony, the variety and amount of potential details can be overwhelming. A great way to start writing your wedding is with a simple wedding ceremony script.
As a professional wedding speech and ceremony writer, I’ve created this guide that will help you develop the four essential parts for any basic wedding ceremony.
Step #1: Write the Opening Remarks
The first part of a simple wedding ceremony script are the opening remarks. Keep in mind that this part of the ceremony often happens before the bride(s) or the groom(s) has walked down the aisle.
The opening remarks should include the following:
Welcome Guests and Get People Excited!
It’s your job to welcome guests. Take advantage of this very first minute of the ceremony by getting everyone pumped. This initial energy will set the tone for the entire ceremony so be intentional with this moment and make it lively.
For example, skip the standard greeting: “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the wedding of Mark and Brianna.”
Instead, try a question that will invite an energetic response: “Welcome everyone! Let me hear the love in the room! Who here is ready to see Mark and Brianna get married!?”
The tone and body language you use when delivering this opening line will tell guests how to respond. If you’re quiet and still, you won’t elicit a lively response, even though your greeting was more energetic than the standard variation.
Remember to smile, be loud, and gesture with your hands. The guests will mirror you. You need to be at 110% to get guests close to 100%.
Introduce Yourself and Your Relationship to the Couple
Many guests won’t know who you are or how you know the couple.
Introduce yourself quickly. Nobody needs to hear a 5-minute backstory about how you and the groom were roommates all through college.
Simply say something like, “My name is Nathan Smith and I’ve been friends with the groom since college.”
Lay the Ground Rules
It’s your responsibility to communicate any ceremony rules to guests. For example, ask guests to silence their phones and refrain from taking any photos, if the couple has requested an unplugged ceremony.
Transition to the Processional
Now that the opening remarks are out of the way, you need to signal to guests that the wedding is going to officially begin. Again, keep this short and to the point.
A simple, “Let’s do this,” or “Let’s begin!” will do.
Step #2: Create the Officiant’s Address to the Couple
The term “officiant’s address” can be overwhelming and scary. What does it even mean? Are you supposed to sound prolific and poetic?
I’ll give you a clue: tell a story.
The officiant’s address is really just a story. To develop the story, meet with the couple several weeks before the ceremony. Ask them these questions:
How did you two meet?
When did you first say you loved each other?
When did you know this was the person you wanted to spend your life with?
How did you get engaged?
What will you value most in your marriage?
Analyze the answers for themes and a story arch. Next, write the story into a script that you can semi-memorize for the wedding day.
This way, when you recite this part of the simple wedding ceremony script, your storytelling skills can captivate guests and you won’t sound like a robotic presenter.
Step #3: Moderate the Exchanging of Vows
The third step in the simple wedding ceremony script is to organize the exchanging of vows.
Before the ceremony, find out if the couple plans to write their own vows or if they’ll recite traditional vows.
This will affect how you organize this section.
If the couple recites their own vows, you’ll introduce each person and they’ll then read their vows. However, if they plan to do traditional vows, you’ll take the lead, and each person will repeat the traditional vows after you.
At this point in the wedding ceremony script, you’ll also include verbiage for the couple to exchange the rings after they recite their vows.
Step #4: Announce the Closing Remarks
The final step in this simple wedding ceremony script is the closing remarks.
There is one key element to remember for the closing remarks: pronouncing the couple as married!
This is the big moment that the couple and their guests have been waiting for. Get everyone excited again.
For example, “Now, in front of your loved ones, and by the authority given to me by the state of _____, I now pronounce you husband and wife/wife and wife/husband and husband. You may now kiss your partner!”
Ask the couple how they’d like to structure this section. Many couples are eager to do away with the traditionally heteronormative language such as, “You may now kiss the bride, “ or, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Ask the couple if they even want to use terms like husband or wife. Do they want you to exclaim, “You may now kiss the bride!” Or, would they prefer, “You may now kiss each other!”
Instead of, “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” consider variations. For example, “I now pronounce you married at last,” or, “I now pronounce you wifey’s for lifey.”
This last line of the ceremony is very important. It will finalize their wedding ceremony and mark their first moment in marriage. Make sure you write this section of the script in a way that mirrors the couple’s wishes.
Still struggling to write your simple wedding ceremony script?
Feeling like this simple wedding ceremony script isn’t so simple? I can help.
As a professional wedding vow, toast, and ceremony writer, I work with friends and family of the couple to write custom and personal wedding ceremony scripts.
Get in touch now to see how we can collaborate to write your ceremony script.
