Questions Asked By Brides and Our Answers
How and when do you unroll the Aisle
Runner:
The aisle runner is intended ONLY for the
bride & her father to walk on. However, because many brides use flower
girls, it is usually unrolled just before the flower girl comes out.
(Please note it is unrolled after the entire wedding party has walked down the
aisle. ) Then the
flower girl throws the petals on the runner. At this point the Maid Of
Honor comes out. The Maid Of Honor is the last person out, just before the
bride and her father. (Or If having a Matron of Honor as well, she would be
last)
The aisle runner is unrolled in this
fashion. The end of the fabric (plastic) is pinned to the carpet up front
at the steps or altar area. (Clear gaffers tape is also a good idea as
gaffers tape does not leave sticky residue on the carpet). If you are
pinning, use the T-shaped pins found in the craft section of stores. Be
sure to use several pins. The roll should be on top of the fabric.
Pull the rope all the way out both sides of the cardboard tube. (All of this is
to be done before the guests start to arrive.) AGAIN BE SURE TO PULL THE rope ALL THE WAY
OUT OF THE CARDBOARD TUBE. This
secret is little known and many bridal directors do not do this before the
wedding. (I've seen it NOT done on many occasions. I go up there and do it
myself).
Use two ushers (groomsmen) to unroll
the runner. They should be pulling slightly to the right, if they are on
the right side (and the left if they are the one on the left) This way the
rope doesn't become tangled into the fabric causing that EMBARRASSING moment of
not being able to unroll the runner. (I have plenty of footage of this in
many video's I have done over the years when I couldn't get to it to fix it
first.)
The runner is unrolled with the cardboard
tube rolling on the floor, not up 1/2 way in mid air. It
should be rolled all the way back past the last row of pews and out the
door. A good wedding director will have scissors to cut the fabric off at
the end (unless you are renting the runner and it is high quality cloth fabric
you don't cut). The wedding director is also responsible to make sure the
cardboard tube is drawn out of the way to one side or the other of the room, so
late people arriving DO NOT TRIP ON IT. You, the bride, are responsible if
anyone becomes injured because of it, NOT the church.
Why do you use an aisle runner in the
first place? The aisle runner was intended to be used in the church when
churches used to have dirt floors. This way the dusty, dirty church floor
would not soil the virginal bride's wedding gown. So when you use the
aisle runner you are using a carpet on top of another carpet (or wood, or tile
floor) not a dirt floor. Think about it. Is this a necessary
expense?
When does formal seating stop at a
wedding?
Many weddings continue formal seating until just before the groom and his
men come out. I have watched wedding directors continue to do formal
seating (where the ushers seat the ladies by escorting them on their arm to a
pew) until seconds before the wedding is do to start. This is wrong.
For example: If the wedding starts
at 4:00 I've seen the grandmothers being formally seated and then more guests
being formally seated and then the mother of the groom is seated and more guests
are formally seated and then the mother of the bride comes out and is seated and
then more guests are formally seated. There is a husband and wife team in
my area that pride themselves in directing weddings for over 20 years and they
continue to make this fatal mistake. Then they wonder why the wedding
doesn't start on time and why the bridesmaids are all ready to walk out at 4:01
PM and they are fighting through a swamp of 25 people waiting to be seated.
If your wedding starts at 4:00, the
formal seating ends when the first grandmother is escorted down the aisle.
At that time, the wedding director (or if you don't have one, the guestbook
attendant or the program hostess)
simply tells late comers (it's
about 3:54 at this time) to please
use the side aisles and find a seat please. All the ushers/groomsmen disappear except for
the 2 or 3 that are escorting the grandmothers, aunts, and mothers of the
bride and groom. Once that usher is no longer needed (has no one else assigned
to him for escorting) he should disappear. (If escorting a bridesmaid down the
aisle, he should go line up with her).
Formal Seating is also optional, people
are used to finding their own seat. But if you do want formal seating at your
wedding ceremony, then it is to stop about 10 minutes before the ceremony is due
to start. NO one except family is allowed to use the center aisle after
that time. Guests can slip in on the side aisles, or up in the balcony and
find themselves a seat.
How early should order my
Invitations and when should I mail them. Also what date should I put as my
Response if they are coming?
Your invitations should be mailed 4 weeks before the
wedding. However if you are having an out of town wedding or the majority
of the guests are coming from out of town you will want to mail your invitations
6 weeks before the wedding date. So one will need to order your
invitations about 9-12 weeks before the wedding date so you will have time to
address them and mail them.
If you are having a small wedding and cards are simply
a formality, you've already invited people by word of mouth, order them 4 weeks
before the wedding. They should be in with in 5 - 10 days. Mail and address them
and send them out 2 weeks before the wedding.
Do you have a wedding question
you'd like answered? Please e-mail us with your question.
