Wedding ceremonies usually last between 20 and 30 minutes, which is ample time to cover the basics (words of welcome, a few readings, your vows, the ring exchange, and the final pronouncement).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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No matter how long your ceremony is, if you’re writing your own, make sure you time it as read through it out loud (because you read more slowly out loud than you do in your head) from start to finish, then add on a few minutes in case happy tears leave words caught in anyone’s throat.

You should also work with your planner to estimate how long the processional will take, given how many people will be walking down the aisle and approximately how long the aisle is.

This will help you come up with an estimate for your total ceremony time, so you can both pick a good start time and let your venue and caterers know when the cocktail hour will begin.