Processional and Recessional
Orders
Christian and Jewish wedding
ceremonies have different orders of procession. For a civil or
non-religious ceremony, all bets are off and you can choose to
have your attendants (and yourselves) enter and leave the
ceremony in any order you like. And for an interfaith ceremony,
you might choose whichever style makes you the most comfortable!
In
Protestant
ceremonies, the groomsmen generally enter the church from the
rear and wait at the altar with the groom. The bridesmaids then
walk down the aisle one at a time, with the maid of honor last;
then the ring bearer and flower girl enter (if child attendants
are part of the ceremony). The bride then enters with her father
or other close male relative. If the ceremony is taking place
outside of a church, or if for any other reason the groomsmen
cannot enter from the rear, a popular option is for the groom to
begin the processional by walking his mother to her seat and
then taking his place at the altar, followed by each groomsman
accompanying a bridesmaid down the aisle.
Catholic
ceremonies have a different processional order, which is as
follows:
-
The priest, groom, and best
man wait at the altar
-
Groomsmen then enter from
the side of accompany the bridesmaids
-
Bridesmaids enter, starting
with the maid who will stand farthest from the bride
-
Ring bearer and flower girl
enter, and may be seated with their parents once they reach
the altar
-
The bride enters,
accompanied by her father or other close male relative.
In
Jewish
ceremonies, the rabbi (and cantor, if applicable) leads the
procession, then the groomsmen walk down the aisle one at a
time, followed by the groom who is accompanied by both of his
parents. The bridesmaids follow one at a time, and are followed
by the bride who is accompanied by both of her parents.
For the
recessional
in all denominations, the wedding party exits in the reverse
order from which they entered, with the bridesmaids and
groomsmen walking in pairs. In Christian weddings, the bride and
groom lead the recessional, followed by the flower girl and ring
bearer, the honor attendants, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen.
In Jewish weddings, the bride and groom are followed by the
bride's parents, the groom's parents, the honor attendants, the
bridesmaids and groomsmen, and the rabbi and cantor.
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