For several years I pastored a church located less than a mile from a college campus. So, for years I performed weddings nearly every weekend… sometimes several!
I’ve seen great weddings. I’ve seen some train wrecks.
Here are three things I’ve learned to set a couple up for a great wedding day:
1. Prepare for the marriage, not just the wedding. Get pre-marital counseling with a credentialed pastor or counselor. This will make you confident for what lies ahead… and it can be really fun. Find someone certified with ‘Prepare/Enrich’. This is a computer based assessment that will lead you through a discovery process you never dreamed possible. It yields great results. (If you and your fiancé are in separate cities you can Skype with the counselor.)
2. Meet with a wedding planner… EARLY. You probably don’t have tons of experience at getting married. So how do you identify the best venue for the rehearsal dinner, for the wedding, or the reception? Which caterer is good, reliable, and reasonable? Who do you rent a tent from? How do you pick a DJ? Rent a port-a-potty… really? Meeting with a wedding planner early will allow you to secure the best venues, form a realistic budget, plan your ceremony well, and turn your anxiety into excitement.
3. Have a wedding coordinator direct your big day. You want to be ‘in the moment’ on your wedding day not worried about details. A wedding coordinator will tell the bridal party when to head down the aisle, cue the musicians, tell the father of the bride when to greet the guests at the reception, prompt the best man when to make a toast, and handle all of the other hiccups that always come on a wedding day. A wedding coordinator sweats the little things so you can focus on this special day.
Do these three things! They will assure that your big day will launch you into married life well.
(Written by Pastor Brad Brinson, Two Rivers Church, Lenoir City, TN)