Temple Guests

Question

Since you are an LDS wedding planner I have a question that is uniquely LDS. How do you move forward with a temple wedding if there are close family members that will be unable to come to the temple? How do you have a temple ceremony without hurting close family members, like parents, that want to be there for the actual ceremony?

~Liz

Answer

Temple weddings can be a confusing and sensitive subject for people who are unable to attend. Here is a link to an article on lds.org to better help with this situation. 

You need to talk with them and help them understand how important the temple is to you. You can invite the intimate members of your family who cannot attend the ceremony to come later to the temple to see the bridal couple emerge and to be in the pictures. The temple has a small waiting room where guests not attending the ceremony may wait. Also, most temples will allow the sealer to accompany the couple out to the waiting room to answer any questions and help the family understand.

One other choice is that throughout the nation it is becoming more common to hold a ring ceremony at your reception site in between the sealing ceremony and reception. This is a way to involve those members of your family. It is simple and should not be another wedding ceremony. Someone should speak about the temple and talk about eternal marriage and then the couple may have a simple exchanging of rings. However, this should never overshadow the actual temple ceremony.