The norm of a wedding has always been that the bride is the last person to walk down the aisle. However, it can be confusing to come out with the procession of who walks down the aisle and when.
Some brides walk down first with their bridesmaids following behind them, while others have their bridesmaids lead the way.
Whichever way you prefer it is entirely up to you, it is your day after all. Thatsaid, you may need to be clear which mother walks down the aisle first and when.
It is always good to have a guide on which order to walk down the aisle in for your bridal team to follow.
It follows that the guest will get in first and be seated. Then the groom’s family will follow and take their places.
After the ushers have seated all of the guests, the grandparents start up the aisle, followed by the groom’s parents.
Then the bride’s mother takes her turn. She is the last to be seated before the bridal party procession begins.
It is, therefore, necessary to have a guide to who walks when during the wedding to make things smooth.
Once your guests have been seated, your officiant will find their place at the altar, the groom (usually accompanied by his best man) will make his entrance. This signifies the beginning of your procession.
Typically, this will include all of the bride and groom’s immediate families, bridesmaids, the maid of honour, the best man (if he’s not already at the altar), the flower girl(s), the page boys’/ring bearer, and, of course, the bride and her usher (usually her father).
Traditionally, the mother-of-the-bride goes first, implying that the procession is about to begin. The bride’s mother is then the last person to be seated before the bridal procession enters.
If the bride has chosen to go ahead of the bridesmaids she follows next. This puts her at the centre of attention and giving the groom a good chance to see her clearly as she walks down the aisle.
If the bride prefers to go after the bridesmaids, then the bides maids follow the bride’s mother. The bridesmaids tend to walk down next, either one at a time, or side by side sometimes.
This leaves the groom to peep through the maids to have a glance at his bride
The maid-of-honour follows, proceeded by the flower girls and page boys, and lastly the bride walks down the aisle, traditionally accompanied by the father-of-the-bride, but this, of course, isn’t a necessity