You’re finally getting married. It’s the grand day and it is almost time for the ceremony. Now you need to enter the venue and blow the socks off all the guests present. You need to communicate your excitement, your eagerness, your enthusiasm and more with just how you show up at your own wedding! Bride and groom can have different grand entries planned individually for the wedding venue, or they can show up together in style at the reception. Here are some ideas that you may like to consider while planning your own Grand Entrance!

The Black Out to Spotlight

Now you see them, now you don’t.  This is a great entry to use at night time. Just as it is time for the groom to enter the venue, all the lights are magically dimmed and everyone stops talking, wondering if the lights are going to go, when they black out completely. As the guests start taking and worries voices are raised, there is a single drum roll and a spot light hits the main entrance. That’s when the groom steps in and the spotlight follows him as he makes his way across the venue to his seat. Clapping of guests and family members optional.

The Flower Decked Doli

While the traditional doli is hardly ever used in weddings these days, it would be a great entry for a bride at the wedding venue.  You could have a rose petal strewn path leading from the door of the wedding hall to the mandap. The doli could be decorated with seasonal flowers and the bride would sit resplendent in the rich tapestry of colours as she is carried by four doli bearers, who may be her brother and cousins, in to the wedding venue. Additional marks for having a couple of flower children throwing rose petals in to the audience as the procession makes its way forward.

The Flash Mob Wedding Party

Guests at the wedding venue can be happily entertained by a secret flash mob done by only those present in the wedding party. The steps could be choreographed in such a manner that they lead the spectators to eventually look towards the point where the bride or groom is making their entrance into the wedding venue. This is one technique that works equally well during the day and the night. Plus it takes no extra expense to get about ten people dancing a specific set of steps. The DJ will have to coordinate about the starting time of the song that the flash mob is dancing to and that’s all the preparation that you need.

The Heavenly Showers

The idea is to get the bride and groom walking through a pre defined path to a point in the wedding venue where they can be seen by most of the wedding guests. At this point they can be showered from above with their choice of items.  It could be flowers, confetti, balloons, or anything else that they prefer. You could even dramatize the effect by having the duo hidden behind a paper banner, then starting up the heavenly showers and then having them break through the paper banner into public sight. Simple, effective and fun, this technique can be used for the wedding reception as well.

Use the Location

If the wedding is being planned at a beach, maybe a ski boat could be used to ferry the bride and groom over to the point of the wedding venue. If money is no expense an airlift in a helicopter to the center of the grounds where the wedding is being held is a great way to arrive with a grand effect. There is even the more adventurous parasailing option for a couple who would like to showcase their courageous dive into the new adventure of marriage. Using the location to its best effect does make for some exciting and fun entries. Just make sure that you are comfortable doing the activity you chose in your wedding finery.

The Costume Masquerade

A solo entry may put pressure on the slightly shy bride or groom. To beat that feeling and still get the full effect of a grand entrance you could go with a group activity. Something unexpected and whimsical is always a good way to go. Get the wedding guests abuzz with a group of theatrically dressed masqueraders crashing the party. They can throw around a few well chosen dialogues, may be even pretend to be high on alcohol. As the wedding guests become a bit uncomfortable the masks can then be removed as can the outer layer of the bulked up costumes to reveal the wedding finery worn below. Sure to make everyone stunned and delighted.

Show them the Fireworks… Literally!

Sparklers, rockets, and fireworks hold a celebratory tone that few other things can match up to. Everyone enjoys a good fireworks display. With the flame throwing stages that are used for events these days combined with some basic fireworks and well thought out choreography, it would be easy to bedazzle the wedding guests as the bride and groom mark their entry into the wedding reception together. For obvious reasons this one would work best at an outdoor venue and at night.

Feature Writer: Cashmere Lashkari