The Talk through V's the Walk through

Jess, Belinda and I pose for a celebratory photo after signing the Notice of Intent to Marry form on the very first day that
same-sex couples could apply. We were very excited! Location: Sorse e Morsi - St Kilda

So your big day's looming and its time to meet-up!

Your celebrant has given you two choices:

A) A rehearsal, or what I prefer to call: a 'walk through' 

or

B) A chat over a hot/cold/alcoholic drink, or for the sake of a good rhyme: a 'talk through'.

What should you do?

Which one is going to work for you both as well as the friends, family and cute little kiddies that will make up your wedding party?

In order to help you make the decision, here's a break-down of how they both work (when I run them anyway....) and finally, my thoughts on the most efficient and effective option.

A) The Walk-Through

1. You gather all your peeps and meet at the venue.
2. People stand around and chat until everyone's arrived.
3. We go through the timing of the walk-in to the music, cover how the vows will go, then skip to the end and do the walk-out.
(I like to keep the script reserved and fresh for the day.)
4. Pre-wedding paperwork to be signed and ID sighted and an in-depth chat about the day with the three of us. So time needs to be allocated for this too.
5. Everyone leaves!

This option usually takes around 2 hours all up... just in the gathering of the peeps alone!

B) The Talk Through

1. We meet at a cafe or pub/bar in St Kilda or Elwood, or these days, an online cyber chat is the chosen option for many time-poor couples.
2. We talk through the ceremony, from walk-ins, vows, where I'll stand, walk-outs etc until you're confident that you know what to expect on the day.
If I'm also acting as MC, we'll discuss the running sheet of the reception as well.
3. We talk music. What's it going to be? Is it a live band, musician or DJ? If not, we’ll nominate someone to be our stop/start person?
4. I sight any ID I haven't seen yet and we sign the pre-marriage documents.
5. We part ways, or you two can stick around and have a nice meal!

This usually takes around an hour... there's just the three of us, everyone gets plenty of time with the talking stick and it's an easy, relaxed experience for all.

So if you can't tell from my vibe already... I'm a much bigger fan of the 'Talk Through.'

It's a more relaxed scenario. We have time to discuss the plan, I get an opportunity to answer any questions without the pressure of a gaggle of on-lookers waiting in the wings and best of all; we get to drink!*

*Tea is included in this statement

So there you have it; the low down on what goes down in either scenario.
Hopefully after reading this; you've got a much better idea of which one's going to work for you, so that when I shoot you the 'we need to meet up' email, you've got a better understanding of which way you'd like to swing things.

Either way; you're going to leave feeling calmer, more empowered and enthusiastic about your up-coming big day; which is a win/win all round!