Easy Tips for a Non-denominational Wedding Ceremony

wedding couple in gardenWhen your long-time boyfriend has finally popped that big question to you, for sure you didn’t hesitate about your answer. As he slipped that engagement ring on your finger, most probably you felt so elated, it seemed that only the two of you existed in the world during that moment. After the engagement party and all the best wishes you’ve received from the people closest to your heart, the next thing that you need to plan and accomplish is your big day.

If you prefer a non-traditional wedding, you may opt not to have it in a church. A non-denominational wedding ceremony would be ideal especially if each of you don’t belong in the same religious institution. The creation, planning and participation in non-denominational ceremony provide you with a number of creative options and unique opportunities to come up with your dream wedding concept. Since you’re working outside the confines of a religious institution, you definitely have the artistic license to savor an interesting and unique wedding that is yours alone.

Non-religious Wedding Venues and Themes

In this modern era, many couples are choosing to hold their wedding in places that they love and treasure. The following is a list of the most commonly preferred venues for weddings:

  1. The beach- Aside from the magnificent view of the sunset, marriage at the white sand beach is a top choice for non-religious wedding ceremony.
  2. The garden- Couples who have green thumbs will likely opt for this because of the beauty of fresh flowers, lush greens and romantic candlelight.
  3. Theme wedding- Rock concert, Hawaiian, sports, The Oscars—these are just a few themes that couples can use to inspire their wedding ceremonies.

On Planning Your Wedding

For a matrimonial ceremony to be successful, careful planning is needed. Here are some tips that can help you achieve the best non-denominational wedding:

  1. Discuss the details of the event with your partner- This is the basic step in drafting your big day. Make sure to stress out the things that you want and don’t want for the ceremony. Of course, make sure to consider what your partner thinks so that you can arrive at something that both of you love.
  2. Choose the officiant of the wedding ceremony- Since what you will be having is a non-denominational wedding, you can have a family member or friend to work with you on the design and ceremony.
  3. Select your wedding venue- When you have selected the style of the ceremony and the person to officiate it, choose your wedding location depending on your preferences, the area where you live and the season of the year.
  4. Take note of the important details of the wedding- If you have someone who will be officiating your wedding, take time to sit down with him and discuss the ceremony. Create a draft and make sure to finalize it with the other person.
  5. Rehearse and enjoy- For a flawless wedding ceremony, you might want to hold a few rehearsals to ensure that everything falls into its proper place.

Enjoy, it’s your big day!

Planning Guide For Non-Religious Wedding Ceremony

Wedding Flowers at Ceremony EntranceNot all weddings have to be traditional. Nowadays, more and more people are opting for a non-religious wedding ceremony. It can be a little bit daunting, especially if you’ve never attended a non-religious wedding ceremony before. But with careful planning, your non-religious wedding ceremony should go off without a hitch. Here are some tips:

Unite in Your Decision

Before everything else, make sure that a non-religious wedding ceremony is really what you and your fiancé both want to have. Once you’ve agreed, you can the move on to the atmosphere that you want to have for your wedding.

Outdoor Wedding Ceremony

This is a popular choice. There are a lot of places that have venues for both outdoor weddings and reception. You can choose between rugged mountains, balmy beaches, serene gardens, or other outdoor sites for your wedding and reception.

Destination Wedding

It’s all about getting away. Many destination weddings are held at the beach, like the Caribbean or St. Tropez. You can elope and have a small ceremony with just the two of you. Or you can ask your family and a few close friends to your destination wedding. Keep in mind that it may be a big expense for other people to attend your wedding, so try to get discounts on airfare and hotel accommodations for you guests. Some people look forward to attending destination weddings because it also counts as a vacation. For the lucky bride and groom, there’s also no need to go elsewhere for a honeymoon.

Officiant

If you’ve opted for a non-religious wedding ceremony, then your officiant will not belong to the clergy. But they do need to be licensed so that your marriage will be legal. Check with your state’s requirements to see what qualifications your officiant should have. If you’ve already chose a venue for your wedding ceremony or reception, you can ask the management for advice. They might be in touch with local officiants. You can also look for non-religious officiants on the Internet. Make sure to speak with your officiant well before the ceremony so that he or she will know exactly what you want. Another option is to ask a friend or member of your family to be your officiant. Be sure to give them enough time so that they can fulfil all of the requirements.

Be Creative

The beauty of a non-religious wedding ceremony is that your creativity won’t be constrained. What do you and your fiancé love to do most? If you’re an avid outdoor fan, you might want to get married on top of a mountain or even next to a river. Be sure however to take your guests into consideration. Your grandparents might not be able to climb a mountain, and they’ll surely want to attend your wedding ceremony.

These are just a few of the things that you need to think about when planning a non-religious wedding ceremony. Think out of the box and you’ll surely have the wedding ceremony of your dreams.

How do I Create a WOW factor for My Wedding?

I guess the best place to start is to figure out what a WOW factor is! When was the last time you experienced something and said WOW. That’s a WOW factor, and chances are it was something UNEXPECTED or something OUTSTANDING.

Every WOW factor is either UNEXPECTED or OUTSTANDING in some way. But when you put UNEXPECTED and OUTSTANDING together, that really creates an extreme WOW factor.

Watch this short video to learn more:

It is Easy to Choose Your Wedding Colour Scheme

Just watch this short video about wedding colours by Angela Fiebelkorn, Wedding Expert on several important Wedding Blogs, and you will get a clear idea on how you can match your wedding colours. Additionally, this short video will give you a starting point for your wedding colour scheme and all the understanding you need to complete the scheme.

Wedding Planning Timeline – Overview

Simplified Wedding Planning Schedule

FREE:  download a .pdf version of our Simplified Wedding Planning Schedule

10 months before wedding
□  Pick wedding theme/style
□  Plan budget
□  Make tentative guest list
□  Set wedding date & time
□  Book ceremony & reception location
□  Select members of wedding party

9 months before wedding
□  Pick wedding colours
□  Book DJ/Band & ceremony musicians
□  Book wedding day transportation
□  Book photographer and videographer
□  Book florist
□  Meet with ceremony officiant

8 months before wedding
□  Select bridal gown
□  Select bridesmaids’ dresses

7 months before wedding
□  Save-the-date cards need to go out to out-of-town guests
□  Any guests coming from countries where Visas are required will need an invitation

6 months before wedding
□  Register gift choices
□  Finalize guest list
□  Order wedding invitations
□  Plan hotel and transportation for out-of-town guests
□  Order wedding cake

5 months before wedding
□  Wedding-night hotel suite for bride and groom
□  Plan honeymoon
□  Select and order wedding favours

4 months before wedding
□  Order groom’s attire
□  Select groomsmen’s attire
□  Send out-of-town guests invitations
□  Select wedding bands

3 months before wedding
□  Send out invitations to in-town guests
□  Finalize and book menu for rehearsal dinner
□  Finalize menu for reception

2 months before wedding
□  Purchase gifts for wedding party & parents
□  Plan reception seating
□  Plan itinerary for out-of-town guests
□  Finalize arrangements with DJ/Band, Ceremony Musicians, Florist, Cake Baker, Photographer and Videographer
□  Confirm times with ceremony and reception sites

3 wks before wedding
□  Call guests who have not responded
□  Get marriage license
□  Get name-change forms (if needed)
□  Confirm all hotel accommodations

1-2 wks before wedding
□  Have rehearsal & dinner
□  Have bridesmaid’s lunch
□  Have groomsmen’s’ day out
□  Confirm wedding day transportation
□  Confirm guest count with caterer
□  Confirm time and location with Officiant, Florist, Cake baker, Photographer, DJ/Band, and Videographer

20 Free Wedding Planning Video Series


Wedding Planning Made Easy

Today’s bride has access to hundreds of wedding websites with lots of different information but the challenge is to find what you are looking for—or to even know what you are looking for.  With an average wedding taking 250 hours to plan, today’s bride has the challenge to find the time to research all her wedding planning options.

At TheBridalCoach, we have gathered all the information in one place to make it easier for the modern bride to streamline the wedding planning process.  Through the use of short videos, task lists, and check lists, we have everything in one place to make it easy.  Specific questions about your wedding plans can be aired daily in our members only forum, or at our weekly coaching call with one of our certified wedding planners.

Planning a wedding is not a hard thing to do, but it does take lots of time to get all the details just right.  We start with defining the wedding vision which is often where a bride and groom get stuck—whose vision will you follow?  Through our Wedding Vision Action List, both the bride and groom are guided through their many choices, and shown how to decide on a shared vision.  Sharing the vision is the first of many unified steps you will make as a couple as you plan your wedding together.  Our unique Action Plans help the couple work together to achieve their wedding dreams.

The Bridal Coach membership site has short instructional videos which outline your many options at each step of the wedding planning process.  This is followed by action lists, and checklists that cut through all the information to just get the job done.  Our cost-cutting video series informs the couple with less expensive options at each step of the wedding planning process.  Whether you are looking for the correct wording for an engagement announcement or a wedding invitation, or whether you want a solution to the high cost of a sit-down dinner reception, we have all your options in one place.

Our team of wedding planners are all certified with the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada.  They are available in our members only forum to answer your questions, on our weekly coaching call, and for personal coaching if you choose that option.

Our goal is to make the wedding planning process fun, quick and easy—and our community of brides and wedding planners makes planning your wedding that much easier.  See you inside!

What will The Bridal Coach do for you?

This is what The Bridal Coach will do for you:

  • Help you define the vision of your perfect wedding, and help you realize that vision
  • Provide you with educational, fun, and entertaining videos which makes your wedding planning choices easy
  • Easy SmartBride™ Action Plans which fit your specific needs and desires
  • One-on-one coaching with your personal wedding consultant
  • Live ‘coaching hour’ where you can ask your wedding planning questions
  • Members forum where you can share with other brides and get your questions answered by a certified wedding planner
  • Make you happy, proud and confident that you have realized your perfect wedding day.