Ceremony

The ceremony is the part of the day people remember most and plan for least. That comes from one confusion: the legal act and the ceremony your guests experience are two different things — and whether the two coincide is a decision, not a requirement.

The practical questions follow from that. What is legally required is manageable and differs by country: which documents, which deadlines, which place. What makes the ceremony, by contrast, is entirely free — words, music, rituals, who speaks and for how long. One side has an authority; the other has only you.

The third point is the running order, which is shorter than it feels. Twenty minutes is a long ceremony; the entrance, the music and the rings take less time than getting everyone there and the congratulations afterwards. This section treats both sides separately — what is formally necessary, and what makes up the part people remember.