Ceremony order...does it matter?

Or maybe: unity ceremony, vows, ring exchange, declaration of intent, kiss.

Ask your officiant. They typically decide with you what order your ceremony will be in.

We are doing welcome statement, vows, declaration of intent, unity ceremony, rings, pronouncement, kiss.

I do definitely keep the vows before the unity ceremony & ring exchange, and keep those last two together. Your vows are the promises you are making to each other - and the exchanging of rings and additional unity ceremony are officially sealing that promise

I think if you talk to your officiant they can change it. I think mine have the kiss last? I would need to double check though.

Your officiant should lead you through this, but I always do the kiss last. The only exceptions are when we include a glass breaking, a broom jump (in either an African American or Celtic context) a toast to the guests from the couple or a blessing.

"I do" is in response to the Question of Intent (Do you come here freely and gladly...).

So, yes, it should be before the exchange of vows.

The rings seal your vows so should come after.

Then unity celebration (if you choose to have one).

Pronouncement.

Kiss.

I usually leave the "I now present for the very first time..." to the DJ at the reception.

I usually don't put it out there because I know how WW feels about it but we are having a friend get ordained and preform the ceremony. It's what makes the most sense to us. That being said, my FH and I are writing the ceremony so that's why I made a thread about the order because I don't have someone to go over it with.

@Nancy and Celia thank you for the input! I really appreciate it. It does make sense that the question of intent comes before the vows, the rings seal the vows, and then have a unity celebration.

I'm seeing that the original post was from 2016 so you are most-likely already happily married, congratulations! But for anyone else wondering the same thing, I wanted to share. Our ceremony is probably a bit out of the ordinary, but we are actually doing it like this:

Processional

Welcome, Acknowledgements, Remembrances

Readings

Symbolism ritual

Vows

Rings & Declaration of intent ( "do you promise to uphold the vows you've made to one another, [+ all the legal words for declaration of intent]?." "I do." "Then as you place the ring on [Partner]'s finger, please repeat after me: 'I marry you with this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you as my wife/husband.'”

Blessing

Kiss

Recessional

That's definitely not the traditional order of things, but we wrote our own ceremony and it seemed to flow the best. First we welcome everyone, we remind everyone that the wedding is a symbol and that the wedding is not our beginning, but a continuation of our commitment, and we add another symbol (the ritual). Next we get to the meat and potatoes of it all and declare our vows and love for one another. We state our vows- ("I plan to...") Then we swear to uphold the vows we just made and say the legally binding words with the declaration of intent ("I do/I will") and solidify the promise with the ring, kind of all at once. After that, we say a prayer and blessing for a long, happy, prosperous marriage, seal the entire thing with a kiss, and go on our merry (MARRIED!) way.

The vows and declaration of intent are typically done together because they go hand in hand. Never attended a wedding that had a unity ceremony aside from the vows itself. Talk to your officiant and see if they are willing to mix up the order.