Whether planning to wed on land or sea, today, brides and grooms are taking their nuptials to new heights when it comes to creating the perfect wedding ceremony. As long as your priest or Justice of the Peace is up for the trip, we’ve seen it all, from couples marrying barefoot on the beach to riding bareback in the brush.

Sentimental Keepsakes
The design of your ceremony reflects your love for each other and for your family and friends who celebrate you. Because of its significance, you may find a way to relate your groomsman gifts with your ceremony. An engraved watch to help them 'get to church on time' is a distinctive groomsmen gift that will never be forgotten! When appropriate, personalized bibles would make for highly spiritual groomsman gifts, as well as a rosary or mezuzah for a groomsmen gift of faith. If your groomsmen share their thoughts through poetry during the ceremony, framed copies of the readings are wonderful groomsmen gifts. Groomsmen gifts may even be presented as a part of the ceremony.

While the church, synagogue, or mosque setting still has its traditional appeal, fiancés are vying for spiritual wedding ceremonies that marry conventional culture with individual expression. Although not carved in stone, protocol dictates that bridal party sizes follow a ratio of one attendant to every 50 guests. Nowadays, many couples are disregarding this rule and selecting as many or as few attendants as they wish.

The look and feel of your wedding ceremony will greatly depend upon how the bridal party presents itself. Before selecting outfits and fitting your attendants one by one, try to see the big picture. Wedding ceremonies often have certain ‘themes’, ‘periods’, or ‘styles’, and the attire can be influenced by the bride and groom’s history of previous marriages, if any. Identifying and establishing in advance what your wedding image will be can save you time and money down the road. As a general rule, the wedding ceremony for a first marriage is normally more formal than successive wedding ceremonies, but that doesn’t mean a second marriage has to play second fiddle.

REMEMBER: If your wedding ceremony will take place outside the traditional religious indoor setting, modify the garments to coincide with the environment and make your wedding ceremony more manageable for everyone.

Regardless of where and when you celebrate your wedding, be considerate when choosing your location. It is not uncommon for brides and grooms to wed 500 miles away from the majority of the guests and expect all attending to spring for travel expenses and overnight accommodations. One couple asked that all fly from New York City to Israel to attend the wedding. To their surprise, very few actually made the trip.

Indoor Wedding
• If your wedding ceremony will be celebrated in a traditional house of worship, introducing extreme concepts or straying too far from the norm may be offensive to the clergy, as well as the guests. Select colors and a dress code that’s appropriate for the environment and you can’t go wrong!

• In a non-traditional indoor setting, you have the choice of honoring the traditional wedding attire or selecting a bolder style. For example, if you wanted your wedding ceremony to have a Hawaiian influence, make sure you are consistent with flowers, decorations, and other visual and audio means.

• Beware: Guests will be much more amenable to your bolder theme if it is celebrated outside of their traditional house of worship.

• Traditional wedding ceremonies are usually accompanied by traditional music. However, many houses of worship are allowing current and/or upbeat music, as long as it isn’t offensive or adheres to a prescribed set of guidelines. Check well in advance so you are not surprised at the rehearsal and left to rely on the congregation to loudly hum during your wedding ceremony.

• For non-traditional wedding ceremonies, try to be consistent with your theme, but also remember that it is a wedding ceremony. So, music choices should be appropriate and not offensive.

Outdoor Wedding
• Outdoor wedding ceremonies can be very romantic, but if not properly planned, can be disastrous.

• Consider the ages of your guests and honor attendants. Make appropriate choices accordingly.

• Don’t dress your bridal party in inappropriate clothing, then request that they climb a mountain to witness your vow exchanges.

• Incorporate tastefully-designed layers and accessories into your outfit choices, for fast removal or addition when the weather makes an unexpected turn or your needs call for bridal party relocation.

• Don’t be disappointed if Mother Nature completely ruins your ceremony. A nearby, indoor backup plan could save your day.

• Besides choosing music that's appropriate for both the occasion and the setting, the best advice for outdoor wedding ceremonies is the investment in an audio system that can be heard but does not deafen!

• Testing the audio system prior to your big day is crucial when planning an outdoor wedding ceremony. Play it safe and try to test it well in advance, with a group of people as a mock audience. You’d be surprised at how many kinks will be discovered during your ‘early dress rehearsal’.

• Hiring a sound person just for this purpose is a wise investment.