Free wedding processional order builder

Wedding processional order by style

The builder makes four orders. Each table below is the order for that style with the builder's usual party, so you can see its shape before you change anything. Put your own counts into the tool and every step, cue and name follows; the tables here stay as a guide.

Traditional

The officiant and partner 2, with an honor attendant, are at the front before anyone walks. Readers, grandparents and parents are seated, partner 1's parents last. Then the attendants walk in pairs, the honor attendant after them, then the children, and partner 1 last with an escort.

Modern, both partners walk

Both partners walk down the aisle, partner 2 first and partner 1 last, each alone or with an escort. The honor attendants walk in together. To change who goes first, swap the two names in the tool.

Both partners with their parents

Each partner walks between both parents, who then sit in the front row. Because the parents arrive with their child, only the grandparents and the readers are seated beforehand.

Small ceremony, under 30 guests

The family is already seated, so nobody needs an usher. Any attendants walk in, then the partners walk in together. A room for 24 guests has about 4 rows, so the spacing cue is short.

Faith ceremonies have their own order

Jewish, Catholic and many other ceremonies have a processional of their own, with roles, positions and customs this builder does not know. If you are marrying in one, take the order from your officiant. The aisle diagram and the spacing rule can still help you plan the room.

The same goes for a family or cultural custom you want to keep. Tell the officiant, then put it into the rehearsal. The four styles here are starting points, and none of them is a rule of etiquette.

Wedding recessional order

The recessional is mostly the processional run backwards. The couple go first, together. The children and the honor attendants follow, then the attendants in the pairs they came in with, and the pair that walked in last goes out first. The officiant either follows the wedding party or waits at the front, which is theirs to decide. Parents step out of the front row once the party has passed, grandparents after them, and the guests last, row by row from the front.

Some couples have the parents leave with the wedding party, or the children leave with their own parents. Both work. Say which at the rehearsal so the ushers know; the tool puts the family behind the wedding party.

Who walks with whom, and why the order exists

Most of the order is practical. Family is seated first so nobody is still looking for a chair when the music starts, and the last parent to sit is the cue for the walkers. Attendants go in pairs so that two people arrive at the front together and then split, which leaves an even line on both sides. When one side has more attendants than the other, the extras walk alone after the pairs.

The honor attendants come late because they stand next to the couple, and in many ceremonies they hold the rings or the bouquet. The children walk just before the partners. Their walk is short and the room is watching them. The partner who comes last is the one everybody is waiting for.

The escort is whoever the partner chooses: a parent, both parents, a sibling, a grandparent, a child, a friend, or nobody. Afterwards the escort sits in the front row. Some orders have the officiant ask the escort a question at the front. If you want that in or out, tell your officiant.

How far apart should wedding processional walkers be?

We use one rule: the next walkers start when the ones ahead reach the third row from the back. It is our rule, not a standard, and the tool lets you change the row. It counts in rows because rows are what everybody can see, at the rehearsal and on the day.

In the sample layout the rows are 42 inches apart: an 18 inch chair plus 24 inches, the sizes our floor plan maker uses. So the row you pick works out to a rough distance, counting from the row where the walkers start:

A short aisle wants a smaller number: in a room with four rows, starting at the second keeps the line moving. A long aisle can take a larger one. The tool never lets the cue go past the last row of your room. Walk it once with the music at the rehearsal, because people walk to the pace of the song, and change the number if the line bunches up or opens a gap.

Special cases: divorced parents, no attendants, children, pets and wheelchairs

Divorced parents

Nobody has to walk together or sit together. A partner can walk with one parent, with both, or with someone else, and the other parent sits in the front row on that side. If two households need some distance, tell the ushers where to seat each one, and tell the photographer.

A parent who has died, or no parent in the picture

Walk alone, with someone you choose, or with the parent who is there. Some people keep a seat in the front row with a flower or a photograph on it. Ask the officiant if you would like it mentioned. Any of these is an ordinary choice.

No attendants

Set the attendant counts to 0. The order loses those steps and nothing else changes; the small ceremony style starts with none. A friend or sibling who stands with you but does not walk can wait at the front with the officiant, the way partner 2 and their honor attendant do in the traditional style.

Children

If a child will not go alone, let them walk with a sibling or an adult, and plan for a family member to sit with them afterwards. Practice with the real music at the rehearsal. If a child freezes on the day, an adult can walk out and collect them. Decide who that is beforehand.

Pets

Ask the venue first, because many do not allow animals indoors or near food. If a pet walks, give it a handler who is not in the wedding party. Enter the pet and handler as a child attendant, since they do what one does: walk in, sit with a family member, leave with them.

Wheelchair users and mobility aids

Ask the person how they would like to do it before anyone else decides. The aisle in the diagram is 6 ft wide, enough for a person and an escort side by side; measure yours, and check the route from the door to the front for steps and thresholds. Put the space for a chair at the end of a row, on the aisle. A grandparent with a cane or walker is easiest to seat early, in the front row on the aisle.

The rehearsal in 20 minutes

Print the rehearsal sheet and give a copy to the officiant, the coordinator and whoever runs the music. This is the split we use. Change it to suit your party; a big one, or children who need practice, will take longer.

1. 0 to 3 minutes. Everyone together. The officiant says how the ceremony runs, in order, and hands out the sheet.
2. 3 to 8 minutes. Positions at the front. Walk each person to the spot where they will stand, with the couple in the middle.
3. 8 to 16 minutes. The walk. The walkers do the processional twice, first without music and then with it, using the cue row on the sheet. Escorts sit as soon as they arrive.
4. 16 to 19 minutes. The recessional, once.
5. 19 to 20 minutes. Cues. Settle who tells the music to start, who sends the ushers, and who gets the guests out.

For venues and coordinators

Five facts about your ceremony space decide most of a rehearsal: how long the aisle is, how wide it is, how many chairs there are, where the officiant stands and where the music cue comes from. Put all five on the floor plan and send it to the couple with their rehearsal time. Drawn on the aisle, the spacing question is easier to answer.

The diagram above is a sample, drawn with the same chair, row and aisle sizes as our free floor plan maker. Draw your own room there at its real size, with the ceremony chairs and the aisle, and the chair and row sizes will match the ones on this page. The capacity calculator shows how many chairs the room holds in rows.

Ask the couple for their officiant's order early if the ceremony is a faith one, and send the printed sheet to the officiant, the DJ and the ushers. The words that go with the walk, the officiant’s script and the printed program, come out of our free wedding ceremony script builder. MyVenueHQ keeps the ceremony time, the room setup and the BEO on one event.

Add this wedding processional order builder to your website

Venues, planners and wedding blogs can put it on their own site for free. Paste this where you want it; it works in WordPress, Squarespace, Wix and plain HTML. Nothing is tracked about your visitors beyond page views.