Sedona weddings 101
How your Sedona wedding ceremony unfolds
As experienced Sedona wedding officiants, we have a soft spot for couples who tentatively say “I don’t even know what happens at a wedding… what happens in a typical ceremony?” This is usually a young couple, but can be anyone who has never been married outdoors, or who wants to include extra touches to their ceremony. Below we set forth the flow of a typical Sedona elopement or wedding, but know that your own Sedona elopement or wedding ceremony is a special thing that you can co-create with your Sedona wedding officiant.
1) Getting to your location. This one is an easy one if you are getting married indoors or at a venue. If you are getting married creekside or on the red rocks, you may have to circle around the parking area a bit to get a space, so leave some extra time for that when planning your arrival. Once parked, many locations require that you purchase a Sedona Red Rock Pass to put in your car. If required, there will be a machine there to get your pass. Your Earth Elopements wedding officiant will meet you in the parking lot, and you will walk together to your ceremony site. We will have more blogs on different sites, and helpful hints on hiking. The couple may wish to arrive together, but may also opt for a “first look” or “grand entrance” of one of the partners. We will write more about these options in a future blog.
2) Set up for your ceremony.
Once you reach your ceremony site, take a moment to breathe. Look around to see the beauty of the area. You may want to change shoes, remove coats, etc. Your wedding officiant will show you where to stand.
Typically, your officiant will stand with her back to the best views, with the couple standing in front of her, facing on another. Stand close enough to each other so that you can comfortably hold hands. If you have a wedding bouquet, we tend to have you hold the bouquet for some initial photos, and then either hand it off if you have guests, or simply place it at your feet. As far as wedding rings, if you have guests you may want one of them to bring you the rings when your wedding officiant calls for them. Otherwise, you may want to have your officiant bring a small table, and you can play the rings on the table until it is time to exchange them. Once we are ready to start the ceremony, there is no need to look at your wedding officiant. Just look at one another to feel connected (and get the best photos!)
3) Become mindful. Once we are ready to begin the ceremony, it is lovely to take a moment to breathe and to become fully present to you partner in front of you. Your Sedona wedding officiant may suggest other ways to become present, such as noticing your feet on the earth.
4) Greeting guests. If you have guests, your officiant may acknowledge them, and thank them for being part of your ceremony. She may also remind them to turn off phones, and to be mindful to leave a space for the photographer if you have one.
4) Ceremony Introduction.
The introduction to your ceremony will vary depending on your package. If you have chosen and Easy Elopement, your wedding officiant will speak briefly, acknowledging the special day and the love that brought you together. If you have chosen a Uniquely Yours, Picture Perfect or Sedona Spiritual package, the introduction will be longer and will refer in greater detail to your love story.
5) Vow Exchange. We are creating a blog specifically addressing your wedding vows, and whether you will speak vows you have written yourselves, or whether you will repeat vows after that the wedding officiant says to you.
6) Wedding Ring Exchange.
After the vows we have the ring exchange. Our years of experience as Sedona wedding officiants has helped us to make the most of this part of the ceremony. We have you hold your rings before exchanging them, and have you hold your partner’s ring at the start of your finger as you repeat ring vows after the wedding officiant. This gives your photographer time to capture the moment, and helps you feel connected while you say your ring vows.
7) Pronouncement. To end your ceremony your officiant will say a few more words, and will then pronounce you to be married, and invite you to kiss to seal your vows. Take your time here, holding the kiss for a least a few seconds to let your photographer capture the moment (and to let your guests cheer!). Your wedding officiant will step aside so as not to get in this intimate picture.
8) Introduction.
After your kiss, your officiant will return to you, have you face your guests (holding flowers if you have them), and will introduce you for the first time as married. This officially concludes the ceremony and you can move to mingle with guests, or just a few breaths to enjoy the moment.
8) Extra touches. If you have chosen a Uniquely Yours, Sedona Spiritual or Picture Perfect ceremony you can opt to add in special touches, such as hand-fasting, sand ceremony, hand washing, crystal singing bowl, or other traditions. These can be done at any point in the ceremony, and your wedding officiant will help you decide the best placement.
9) License signing.
To make your marriage legal, the couple, wedding officiant and two adult witnesses will sign the marriage license. We will write more about your license in an upcoming blog.
10) Photo shoot and goodbye. If you have hired a wedding photographer, they will likely do posed wedding pictures after the ceremony for you and your guests. We will write more about Sedona wedding photographers and what to expect with them in an upcoming blog.
Once your photos are done, you are free to float blissfully away to you first adventure as …
a MARRIED couple!!
