However, instead of waiting until the week before your celebration to consider the flow of your ceremony, Pushkine recommends starting this conversation early on in the process in order to voice your preferences to your planner and/or coordinator. For example, religious ceremonies are typically more fixed in terms of the service, language, and traditions, while secular/non-religious ceremonies give couples a lot more flexibility to personalize the ceremony to their unique tastes. While all weddings have a standard format (, readings, vows, exchange of rings, pronouncement, first kiss, and recessional), by changing up the readings, verbiage, and incorporating creative rituals into the service, you can make it completely your own. “[Today's couples] are writing their own rules,” Pushkine says. “They’re looking to create an experience, which is different than before, where couples just did what their parents did.”, FINALLY: If you are having a family member or friend perform your wedding ceremony, make sure they are legally ordained: Get Ordained Now (* Wanderlust Bay Ministries can have them ordained and prepared to perform the most beautiful wedding in the world by the weekend.) 1. A Sweet, Secular Ceremony Script From The Knot INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME:, Planning your wedding ceremony with the help of an officiant or religious leader? To help guide you, we’re sharing eight sample wedding ceremony scripts (including modern, nonreligious, and .