I'm at the point where I start thinking about the ceremony and how the day will go.
I was thinking, it's traditional that the groom is already at the front, but where we'll be outside, I don't really want to have him be out there waiting for people to arrive. I've seen all sorts of variations, but there are a few things I'd like to consider.
The first is that I don't know if I want to pair people up. I'd feel weird with it especially as some already have significant others, and there's also quite a height difference and I worry that some people wouldn't be seen walking up. How I'm imagining it is that we'd start in the building, then walk down the driveway to the outdoor area. I think the last wedding I was at had the groom and his group go up first, and then the brides party and the bride with her dad at the end. I'm not sure if I like that either. I'm open to suggestions.
I'm also wondering about seating and music. With the ceremony being outside and the goal of having live music, I was wondering what would work best. If we do a song for the ushers seating people, and then a song for walking in, or if we have the song change when I walk up, or what. I'm open to ideas on that too.
For walking out, I'm not sure how that works, if we'd just walk back to the building, leading the group to the lounge area while we get photos and the decorator makes sure things are set up, or if we just hang out outside and the ushers can lead people inside as they want to. I worry about the heat (August is the warmest month usually), as well as mobility as it might take some family members longer to get inside. I haven't been to any weddings with an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception, so if anyone wants to share what they did/are doing, or has ideas, I'm at the stage of trying to figure out what the best options are.
