Standard Western wedding process

Wedding, one of the five rites of life, is a traditional ceremony, equivalent to the legal notarization ceremony of modern weddings. Its significance is to gain recognition and blessings from society, help newlyweds adapt to new social roles and requirements, and prepare for the wedding. Take social responsibility. Below is the standard Western wedding process that I want to share with you. You are welcome to browse!

1. The last moment before the wedding

Generally, relatives and friends are not allowed to see the bride’s dress before the wedding ceremony begins, so the bride needs to come at the last moment. In the past few hours, you will start to put on clothes and make up your appearance. The chief bridesmaid and other bridesmaids should also arrive at the bride's home early to help the bride organize the necessary items for the wedding and help the bride change into her wedding dress and wait for the makeup artist to arrive. When the bride begins to put on makeup and style her hair, the bridesmaids should change into their own bridesmaid dresses. At the same time at the groom's home, the groom and the groomsmen should also be fully prepared for the arrival of the last one. The bouquets, corsages and flower baskets and petals needed for the microphone should also be sent to the homes of the two couples and then distributed to each person.

2. Introduce the guests

Half an hour before the wedding officially starts, the guests should have arrived one after another. At weddings, the seats are generally divided into two rows: left and right. According to tradition, the right row is for the man's family, relatives and friends, and the left row is for the woman's family, relatives and friends. The guests at the entrance were handed over to the wedding group who was in charge of welcoming guests, inviting those who had arrived to sign, and leading them to their seats.

Opposite the wedding table are the seats for the guests. The first row of aisle seats in the front of the wedding table and in the middle are reserved for the parents of the bride and groom. Others are not allowed to sit. The seats are still in accordance with the traditional tradition of the groom’s parents on the right and the bride’s parents on the right. for the left. If held in a church, the wedding podium is an ordinary pulpit. If it is non-religious, the arch will usually be decorated with flowers.

After the seats are filled with guests, the accompaniment band can start to play soothing music, allowing the guests to chat slowly and quietly, waiting for the wedding that is about to begin.

3. Wedding Entrance Ceremony

1. The officiant enters the venue

Wait until the music stops slowly. The officiant who is the first to step onto the wedding stage in the middle position stands facing the guests.

2. The groom and his parents enter the venue

Following the rhythm of the officiant, the groom is the first to enter. According to tradition, the groom's parents are led to the reserved seats by the usher before the wedding begins. But today's younger generation feels that this cannot highlight the important status of parents. Therefore, most grooms will choose to walk down the aisle of the wedding with their parents until they stand at their parents' seats. After the groom hugs his parents, his parents sit down and then walk to the left hand of the officiant. Side, stand facing the guests.

3. The entry of bridesmaids and groomsmen

The entry of bridesmaids and groomsmen is generally divided into three ways:

(1) The main groomsmen and Sina enter together , the remaining groomsmen and bridesmaids walked in side by side, and the main bridesmaid finally walked in alone.

(2) The groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down the wedding aisle in pairs, with the groomsmen and bridesmaids walking last. When the Queen Mother enters the wedding, the groomsmen and bridesmaids who are the first to enter stand at the two ends, and the main groomsmen and bridesmaids stand closest to Sina.

(3) All the groomsmen enter first, and then the bridesmaids walk into the wedding aisle one by one amid the music.

Reminder: The best man and bridesmaid enter after the groom enters and before the bride enters. Don’t forget this.

4. The flower girl and ring boy enter the venue

The ring boy holds a small ring pillow (usually, a fake ring is used here, and the real ring is in the groomsmen’s pocket). Carry a hand full of flower petals. The flower girl walked up the wedding aisle and scattered flower petals on the white carpet where the bride would pass. (The greeter will unfold the prepared rolled white carpet in advance to only the last section of the wedding venue.) At the wedding stage, the female flower girl stands behind the bridesmaid and the male ring bearer stands behind the best man. The flower girl and ring boy enter after the bridesmaids and groomsmen enter, but before the bride enters.

5. The bride enters with her parents

In traditional customs, the bride is accompanied by her father, but now the younger generation believes that the mother is equally important, and everything is done by the parents at the same time. Accompany entry.

At this point, the wedding entrance ceremony is coming to an end, and the most exciting moment is about to come, when the bride will enter.

The bride and her parents need to pause for a moment when they reach the end of the white carpet. This is the band playing the "Wedding March", and the guests collectively stand up and face the bride to show respect. As the music played, the bride held the bouquet in both hands. Her father stood on the right hand side of the bride, and her mother stood on the left side. They held the bride's hands and slowly walked into the wedding table. At this time, the groom stepped forward to greet her, and the bride's father turned around. Open the daughter's veil, kiss her cheek, and then the bride turns to kiss her mother. The bride's veil does not need to be covered again until the end of the wedding. The groom is waiting for the bride to hold her right hand like his own. The bride's parents return to their seats. The newlyweds walk to the front of the wedding and face the host with the woman on the left and the man on the right. The wedding ceremony is about to begin.

Western-style wedding process and shooting guide

Engagement ceremony is very important

Unlike domestic weddings, Western-style weddings mostly start with a formal engagement ceremony , its scale is not even inferior to that of the wedding day. However, there are also small family engagement ceremonies. The main purpose is to officially announce the good news of marriage to relatives and friends, and at the same time, it also provides a good communication opportunity for both families. Often there will be a few weeks or months between engagement and wedding. During the engagement, both parties will have more opportunities to get to know each other better as husband and wife, and at the same time, they will be more fully prepared for the wedding.

Engagement ceremonies are usually photographed by friends. Only a few newlyweds with a good financial situation will hire a professional photography team to take the photos. There are also some couples who like to take outdoor photos on their engagement day, which are similar in nature to domestic wedding photos, but they don’t wear wedding dresses and are more like couple photos.

Determining the wedding date and wedding preparations

Deciding the wedding date

Traditional Western weddings tend to be held on weekends, especially Saturdays, because most of the guests who need to be entertained usually I went to work, and the wedding banquet ended late. However, in recent years, many wedding banquet hotels have launched special wedding banquet packages for Friday or even Thursday. Couples will also consider issues such as budget and banquet size and book wedding banquets for Thursday or Friday.

Choosing the location of the wedding ceremony and wedding banquet

Due to religious beliefs, most Western-style wedding ceremonies are held in churches. Different churches will be chosen according to the different beliefs of the couple. Hold a ceremony. Generally, churches need to be booked several months in advance. If it is on the weekend, the couple's reservation needs to be specific to the time period, because there may be multiple couples getting married in the same church that day. Reservations for wedding banquets should be made in advance, especially if the wedding banquet venue has beautiful scenery and delicious food. Pre-ordering wedding banquet dishes is also very particular. Generally, a Western-style wedding banquet is divided into three courses - appetizer, main course and dessert, and each dish must provide at least two flavors for guests to choose from. Some wedding banquets will also hold a cocktail party as A part before the meal.

Book photography and videography services

After confirming the wedding date and location, book your favorite photographer and videographer as soon as possible. Due to the limited availability of famous photographers, many newcomers will even book photography and videography services as the first step. Some newcomers will book their favorite photographers one or two years in advance. About a month or two before the wedding, the couple will communicate face-to-face with their wedding photographer to determine the itinerary for the wedding day, their preferred photo style, and make some personalized requests.

Book a florist and cake maker

An exquisite and elegant wedding is absolutely indispensable for the florist’s careful arrangement. A good florist will use carefully selected flower materials and suitable The design of the couple’s personality injects soul into a wedding. There are also seasonal and matching limitations in the selection of flower materials, so it is particularly critical to communicate with the florist in advance to determine the style of the entire wedding. Cake chefs, like florists, also need to consider the theme and colors of the wedding. The two need to cooperate with each other to achieve a harmonious effect.

Choosing wedding dresses, gowns and wedding shoes

Wedding dresses, gowns and wedding shoes are often the parts that brides pay the most attention to. Today's Western-style weddings prefer close-fitting wedding dresses, especially fishtail and lace wedding dresses, which are very popular among women. Different from domestic weddings, brides do not change into dresses on the day of foreign weddings. Most of the dresses are prepared for the engagement party.

Bachelor party

The time of the bachelor party is relatively flexible and can usually be held after the engagement.

The "Bachelor Party" for the groom and the "Hens Party" for the bride are great opportunities for good friends to celebrate the newlyweds. Most wild parties will be held in the bar in the evening, elegant parties will choose afternoon tea, and at cocktail parties, in addition to fine wine, girls often go to the SPA together. Bachelor parties are often crazy and private, so they generally don't like to hire photographers to take pictures. Most people just take photos with their mobile phones, without the need for formal photos.

The process and shooting of the wedding day

The shooting of a Western-style wedding day is mainly divided into four parts-the preparation stage of the groom and the bride (Getting Ready), the wedding ceremony (Ceremony), Location Photo and Reception on the wedding day.

Preparation

In the early morning of the wedding day, the groom and the bride will prepare for their big day in their respective residences, accompanied by their family members, groomsmen, and bridesmaids. Different from domestic weddings, in Western culture, it is considered unlucky for the groom to see the wedding dress before the ceremony, so the wedding does not include the wedding part.

The bride will start dressing with the help of her bridesmaids, relatives and friends. After everything is ready, before going out, she will say goodbye to her parents with the last name she used when she was a single woman. Because according to Western wedding traditions, most brides will take their husband's surname after getting married. Westerners are more emotionally expressive and like to express their emotions to their parents, relatives and friends. It is recommended that photographers mainly take snapshots, which can record the true state of the couple to the greatest extent. If time permits, the photographer can take some solo photos of the bride before she goes out to record the most beautiful moments of the woman.

The groom’s family will also arrange a morning photoshoot, which is basically the same as the photoshoot at the bride’s home. It mainly captures the interaction between the groom, the groomsmen, and parents. It is particularly important to capture the subtle personal emotions.

Wedding Ceremony

For photographers, special attention should be paid to respecting the beliefs of different religions. For example, many churches require photographers not to use flash or go up steps to take photos. If they violate the rules, they will be considered disrespectful. In serious cases, they may even be kicked out of the ceremony. Photographers should learn to "stealth shooting" during such serious and solemn ceremonies, try to use a camera with a silent shutter, increase the ISO value, and use a telephoto lens to shoot.

During the ceremony, the bride entered the ceremony holding her father’s arm. This is the first time the groom sees the bride in her wedding dress, and he usually cannot control his emotions. The photographer should seize the opportunity to capture the most touching and sincere pictures. In addition to photographing the newlyweds during the wedding ceremony, the photographer should not miss photographing the emotional expressions of the parents, the relatives and friends watching the ceremony, and the lovely flower girls. Before the ceremony ended, the priest declared the couple officially married. According to tradition, the newlyweds should walk out of the church before the guests, and everyone will stand and applaud. Many cheerful and vivid pictures can also be captured at this time. The subsequent group photo is usually done on the steps at the door of the church, so that the picture will be more layered and everyone can be better presented. After a short rest, the guests will go to the place where the dinner will be held, and the couple and the groomsmen will follow the photographer to the outdoor shooting location.

The photography of the wedding ceremony often needs to be adjusted according to the specific requirements of the couple, but the most basic and core oaths, exchange of rings, kisses and the final group photo are all indispensable.

Location shooting

Unlike Chinese weddings, all wedding photos for Western weddings must be completed on the wedding day, so couples generally choose to take location photos closer to the church or wedding venue. To save time on the road. It is not advisable to have too many people accompanying you during the photo shoot, usually only the groomsmen will accompany you. Because the shooting time is short, this requires the photographer to have good communication skills and solid capture skills. This stage of the shoot is where the wedding photographer can take the lead, and it’s also a good time to get creative. The shooting locations should be determined according to the requirements of the couple, usually 1-3, such as outside a church, a nearby park, in front of a distinctive building, or taking photos with the wedding car in an open space.

Wedding banquet

Usually the wedding banquet can be arranged at noon or in the evening, but the dinner is more popular because everyone has enough time to celebrate the couple's marriage.

Generally speaking, the wedding banquet of a Western-style wedding mainly consists of the following components.

The newlyweds enter

During the wedding ceremony, the guests have witnessed the exchange of vows and rings and other sacred moments, so they entered a warm celebration atmosphere from the moment they entered the wedding banquet. . Accompanied by cheerful and dynamic music, the groomsmen and bridesmaids entered the venue first. When the music and the atmosphere of the scene reached a climax, all the guests present stood up to welcome the protagonist of the wedding. The entrance form of the dinner party is carefully designed by the bride, groomsmen and bridesmaids. People with different personalities and nationalities will choose very different entrance methods. The entrance of each newlywed couple will bring different surprises. Photographers should adjust camera parameters and be ready to capture wonderful moments at any time.

Congratulations

Congratulations are usually arranged after the main course. First, the parents of both parties express their best wishes to the newlyweds, and then the best man and bridesmaid representatives introduce to everyone how the two have met and fell in love. The story ends with a touching message from the couple themselves. If the day's shooting is a two-camera shoot, then you need to stand separately during the couple's speech to record the different reactions on and off the stage, so as to capture the touching moment in the most accurate and quick way.

Cutting the wedding cake and toasting

After the toast, the couple will cut the first cut of the wedding cake together, which symbolizes their union and their dedication to each other forever. Then everyone will toast to the newlyweds and share the wedding cake.

The couple’s first dance

After the toast, the couple will dance their first dance with the blessings of all the guests. Some newlyweds will choose to dance the waltz, while others will carefully prepare their own unique opening dance according to personal preferences. Because the environment is dark, an assistant can hold an LED light (such as Icelight) for illumination when shooting, which can help the camera follow focus more quickly. Try not to use flash when shooting, and retain the true light atmosphere of the scene.

Dance

After the first dance, everyone will enter the dance floor together and start dancing. Different ethnic groups have different celebration customs. For example, at a Lebanese wedding, everyone will dance to the traditional Lebanese drums. Photographers can also be on the dance floor and take pictures while dancing. At this time, they rely more on the skills of blind shooting and snapshots. Throwing bridal bouquet and garter

When the wedding is coming to an end, the bride will throw the bouquet representing the happiness of marriage to the single girls present, and the girl who receives the bouquet will be blessed to get married soon. The same custom also applies to the single boys present, except that they are not grabbing the bride's bouquet, but the garter that the groom took from the bride's legs. When shooting the bouquet-throwing scene, the choice of angle is particularly critical. In addition, you should also pay attention to the setting of the shutter speed.

Western-style wedding ceremony

It is usually divided into two parts: church ceremony and wedding ceremony.

Church ceremony

Reflects the sanctity of marriage.

Play wedding music

Usually the "Wedding March" is played, but other suitable songs can also be sung.

The newlyweds enter the church

The groom and the bride enter the church separately and make preparations in their respective rooms.

The newlyweds walked up to the altar

Three little boys and two little girls lined up and stood beside the altar. The groom first walks to the altar to wait for the bride. The bride is accompanied by her father to the altar, and the father returns to his seat. The groom and bride walked to the altar together.

Greetings

This is the opening ceremony of the wedding hosted by the priest to express greetings and blessings to the newlyweds and their families.

Performing the Liturgy of the Holy Word

It is presided over by the priest, who preaches the gospel and reveals the love between men and women and the meaning of marriage, family and life by reading the Book of Genesis from the Bible. During this time, there was singing by the choir, which reflected a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere.

Signing of a marriage contract

This is the most sacred and solemn part of a Western wedding. Through the question and answer between the priest and the bride and groom, the marriage contract and the commitment to future life are completed in front of God, relatives and friends. .

Prayers of believers

Religious believers and family members who participated in the wedding *** prayed and blessed the bride and groom together.

Flower presentation

The flower girl presented a bouquet of roses to the newlyweds.

Taking photos

After the church ceremony, the couple took photos with their families.

The wedding ceremony

reflects the secular nature of marriage.

The location of a Western-style wedding banquet

Generally chooses a Western-style building or outdoors in a garden.

Characteristics of Western-style wedding banquets

Different from the celebratory atmosphere of Chinese-style wedding banquets, Western-style wedding banquets reflect the style of elegance and taste. Western-style wedding banquets advocate frugal and moderate diet, natural and beautiful environment, free communication space, and relaxed and elegant atmosphere. Usually accompanied by a small band, newlyweds gather with relatives and friends to enjoy food and drinks while dancing.

Western-style wedding banquet style

1. Red wine party theme: mainly tasting the world-famous brand of red wine, accompanied by various fruits and Western pastries.

2. The theme of the coffee party: mainly tasting world-famous brand coffee, accompanied by fruits and Western pastries.

3. Buffet theme: Chinese and Western dishes, paired with wine and snacks.