13 nontraditional wedding processional options | Photo by Stephanie Vegliante Photography
Are you looking for options for your wedding processional? Many couples are open to new and interesting processionals for their wedding. When I meet with my couples to plan the processional, I often find that they haven’t really thought about how everyone will get down the aisle, so it’s my job to offer them options and let them choose the one that fits them best. There are myriad options for nontraditional processionals formations. Here are just a few.*
You can check out this blog post if you’re looking specifically for ideas for the groom’s processional.
Option #1
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Groom + Mother of the Groom + Father of the Groom
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Mother of the Bride + Escort (uncle, brother, cousin, friend or groomsman who circles back to enter with bridesmaid)
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #2
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Groom + Mother of the Groom + Father of the Groom
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride + Mother of the Bride
Option #3
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Groom + Mother of the Groom
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Father of the Groom + Escort
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Mother of the Bride + Escort
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #4
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Groom + Mother of the Groom
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Mother of the Bride + Father of the Groom
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #5
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Groom
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Mother of the Groom + Father of the Groom
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Mother of the Bride + Escort
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #6
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Groom
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Grandmother of the Groom + Grandfather of the Groom (1)
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Grandmother of the Groom + Grandfather of the Groom (2)
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Grandmother of the Bride + Grandfather of the Bride (1)
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Grandmother of the Bride + Grandfather of the Bride (2)
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Mother of the Groom + Father of the Groom
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Mother of the Bride + Escort
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #7
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Groom
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Mother of the Groom + Father of the Groom
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride + Mother of the Bride
Option #8
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Groom + Groomsman (pre-processional: enter from side, rather than down the aisle)
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Mother of the Groom + Father of the Groom
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Mother of the Bride + Escort
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #9
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Groom (pre-processional: enter from side, rather than down the aisle)
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Mother of the Groom + Father of the Groom
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Mother of the Bride + Escort
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Groomsman
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Groomsman
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Groomsman
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #10
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Groom + Groomsman (pre-processional: enter from side, rather than down the aisle)
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #11
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Groom + Groomsman (pre-processional: enter from side, rather than down the aisle)
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride
Option #12
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Groom
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Groomsman
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Groomsman
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Groomsman
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~song change~
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Bridesmaid
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Father of the Bride
Option #13
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Bridesmaid + Groomsman
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Ring Bearer
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Flower Girl
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Bride + Groom
You may wonder where I, as the wedding officiant, enter. I typically enter in the silence between the background music playing as the guests are arriving and the beginning of the processional. In the instances where the groomsmen enter pre-processional, I would most likely enter with them at that time.
*Please forgive my heteronormative language. I most definitely work with same-sex and LGBTQ couples and don’t mean to be excluding anyone here. Same-sex wedding processionals and LGBTQ wedding processionals can be even more creative! The sky is the limit! Also, please forgive me for not including step parents or partners of the parents. This can get kind of tricky since there are so many combinations, so you’ll just have to use your imagination to decide how you want these folks to be part of the processional.
