Very casual, family-only ceremony. How should we do it? How to get everyone involved?

Hi and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

I just LOVE small weddings. Yours sounds very romantic and intimate.

If it were me, I would opt for your idea of everyone standing in a circle around you. I think that sounds so nice. Much better than you (or your guests) on the balcony.

A couple of ideas (from myself and another site)....

~ Have members of your family do a reading/poem.

~ Ask each of the guests to say a few words about the couple, or ask them to write a few things down ahead of time, and assemble them into a document for one person to read aloud.

~ Make up a wedding program/booklet. You could include information about you and your groom...a little story of where you met...when and where you got engaged, etc. Then include messages to each of the guests. Name each person in your program individually, commenting about him/her/them with a statement such as:

"To Uncle Joe and Aunt Thelma, we thank you so much for the enthusiasm you brought to this day. We hope to capture the passion for life that you have shared in your 35 years together."

~ Music for ceremony: I would definitely want music, no matter how small it is! What about a guitar player? Violin soloist?

Good luck and I hope you have a beautiful day!

Hey, right on. I love all of your ideas. Definitely do the canvas idea. It's a nice take on the popular "sign the photo matte" idea. I like it.

I think any of your suggestions (especially the balcony idea) would work well. That said, I LOVE the idea of forming a circle around the couple. You can play on that and add that reference (I.e. forming a circle of love, support, etc.) into the vows. I think it will be very unique.

Congrats!

Wish I was invited...you wedding sounds like something I'd love to go to! ;)

When I officiate at a small family-only wedding I have everyone stand in a circle with me opposite the bride and groom (so the circle is filled in on either side by family members). That way everyone gets to see everything and no-one is standing behind the bride and groom. It is so not necessary for the bride and groom to stand with their backs to family so that all family sees is the officiant's face for most of the ceremony.

Let me start by saying that it is you and your fiance's big day and you can do things however you like :) wearing your dress to dinner is just fine! I know I always love seeing the bride in her gown, and it adds to the "wedding" feel of the dinner then. I would also like to add though, from personal experience and having worked in the wedding industry for quite some time now, that people can get offended if they are not invited to the wedding, and only the reception. The wedding ceremony part of the day is really the most important. You are vowing to love your partner for the rest of your lives.....the reception afterward is just to celebrate the ceremony happening. Only inviting the majority of people to the reception kind of says "you are not important enough to us to witness our ceremony, but we'd love to see you afterward and possibly get gifts." I know you are probably not trolling for gifts, but that is what will go through some people's heads, no matter if it is true or not. This probably isn't such an issue if you have a lot of younger guests being invited to just the reception, but older guests in particular like to actually witness your vows to one another and sit through the ceremony, as that is the life changing part of a "wedding." That being said, do whatever is best for you and your fiance. If having a private ceremony (where you don't have to be in front of a lot of people) is best for you, then go that route. I just wanted to let you know how my experiences on the issue have been. Best of luck to you!!

It would be nice if you have everyone stand around you in a circle and why not have the justice of peace hand your rings to your guest and they can pass them around the circle blessing them with a wish for your marriage before you exchange your vows. Congrats on your wedding.

I love your canvas idea!!!! Fantastic!!!

I went (and will be having) a wedding a lot like yours and to give you ideas, here's what they did:

1. They had a three season porch that opened to their living room area so it was them (plus the officiant, the BestMan, MOH, and flowergirls) out there with all of us watching from the living room.

2. The JOP said a little, but then the groom's sister read from Corinthians

and that was it

3. They had music playing in the background and served champagne aftewards. We all went to dinner to celebrate.

If you have a nice background...stand in front of it with your family surrounding you in a half-circle. I love your idea of the painting, it's very clever. I also offered a suggestion to my d-i-l for after they get into their home. Buy yourself a plain white linen tablecloth and have everyone sign it or write words of inspiration for you and then stitch over their signatures or words and you will have a lasting memory of the people that come to visit you from year to year. even after machine washing. Once you have a child, they can add their art to it and you can stitch in their age, etc...Best of Luck to you!