Wedding Service Outline
“The Schedule” must be in the hands of the Minister before the wedding can proceed.
Most weddings follow the basic outline. For a small wedding hymns may not work as well as when there is sizeable congregation.If there are no hymns you do not need an organist, you decide. Not all weddings have a piper, once again the decision is yours.
Preliminaries
Groom and Best Man arrive at the church, photographs are usually taken and everyone is seated in the church 5 minutes before the appointed time.
A piper may play up until 5 minutes before the service.
When everyone is in the church the organist may play suitable music.
At the appointed time
The Bride, her Father and the Bridesmaids arrive at the church (rear of the church in Balquhidder).
A piper may play to announce their arrival of the Bridal party.
Photographs are taken of the Bridal party before they proceed into the church where they are met by the Minister. The photographer takes his/her place in the church and either during the final hymn or immediately after the benediction prepares to take photographs of the signing of the schedule.
The piper stops playing to signify that the bridal party are ready to enter the church.
The service begins
The organist may play “The Bridal March” or other suitable music.
The Minister leads the Bridal party to the front of the church.
The Minister begins the service with a reading from Genesis - ending “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
A first hymn may be sung
Then follows a brief statement concerning the purpose of marriage, followed by an affirmation that the Bride and Groom are free to marry.
In the prayer which follows we ask God’s blessing on the Bride and Groom, and seek His help in enabling them to keep the vows they are about to make. Then everyone joins in with the Lord’s Prayer.
The Vows
The congregation stand - the Bride and Groom join right hands and make their vows -
The Minister pronounces them to be husband and wife.
The couple kneel for the Wedding Blessing
A reading from the Bible
A second hymn may be sung
Finally a prayer to ask God’s blessing on the couple’s future life together,
followed by the Benediction.
Signing the Schedule
The Minister leads the couple together with parents and witnesses to
The Community Room (Killin)
The Friendship Room (Balquhidder).
As the wedding party leave to sign the schedule, and during the signing of the schedule everyone else remains in the church. At this time the organist may play suitable music / or a CD may be played.
The Schedule is signed and other details entered in the records.
The photographer may take photographs during the signing of the Schedule. The photographer leaves to be in place to photograph the couple as they emerge from the church.
Leaving the church
The organist may play suitable music.
The wedding party leave the church - led by the newly married couple.
The congregation may leave by other exits if the front door is congested.
The piper may begin to play as the couple arrive at the door of the church.
