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Planning a wedding is a stressful feat. Although the event itself is meant to be full of love and memorable in the best of ways, it’s natural that expectations, societal pressures, and an industry designed around more inevitably converge in a perfect storm of overwhelm and, worse, disconnection from yourself.
“Often, couples are so fixated on the day itself they forget about prioritizing their own needs,” says yoga teacher and wedding celebrant Coral Hawkins. “The wedding can be enjoyed so much more when they can show up with presence and confidence.” Although you’re likely less than eager to add another item to your stacked wedding day schedule, there’s a trending, mindful moment that may be missing: a pre-ceremony yoga practice.
The Case for Wedding Day Yoga
Beginning your wedding day with mindfulness—rather than simply diving headlong into your wedding day checklist—can set an intentional tone for the day. According to yoga teacher Tess Strand, founder of The Breathing Room Collective, which offers wedding mindfulness practices, a pre-wedding yoga practice can influence everything from how the couple walks down the aisle to how each responds to the unexpected that inevitably arises.
Whether weddings veer toward traditional or contemporary, couples are seeking new ways to celebrate. Strand has curated wedding day sound baths, moon ceremonies, guided meditations, and more, all typically accompanied by a yoga practice.
Yoga teacher Sarah Cherry, creator of Balanced Bride, agrees, citing full moon bridal blessings, energy-clearing meditations, and somatic movement as a few recent requests. “There’s also a rise in private breathwork sessions for couples who want to ground into their vows not just mentally, but physically and emotionally,” she says. “People are remembering that how they feel is just as important as how things look.”
Cherry has noticed that wedding yoga can help anchor couples into their bodies, regulating the nervous system and creating internal spaciousness amid the swirl of activity. This shift can allow you to actually enjoy the day—and remain present throughout.
“These practices gently shift the energy, allowing the heart to fully arrive in the moment,” she says. Those who lead pre-ceremony classes add that this sort of purposeful pause is rare, and gives brides, grooms, or both room to really register the significance of the day. If the two choose to practice as a couple, wedding yoga is an extra opportunity for alignment.
“Doing yoga before the ceremony is a non-verbal and highly meaningful way to connect and share a quiet moment before the celebration,” says yoga teacher Beth Steffens. “A wedding day yoga practice becomes a memorable part of the day; something that’s uniquely theirs.”
Yoga Fosters Connection
Though perhaps out of the norm, making space for a little time on the mat makes a ton of sense.
Teachers reference their own experiences planning and witnessing weddings as the inspiration for offering wedding day yoga. The shared goal is to transmute a potentially disconnected experience to a wholly present one.
“Our intention in creating these offerings isn’t just pre-wedding add-ons: they are doorways into deeper connection with self, with your partner, with purpose,” says Cherry, noting that this experience tends to be more aligned with what people are really seeking on this special day. “In a moment that often pulls you outward, this work can gently bring you home [to yourself].”
How Wedding Day Yoga Works
There are, of course, certain things you don’t want to deal with directly ahead of your wedding ceremony. Sweat, for example, or overexerting yourself in any way, mentally or physically.
Teachers are quick to note that a huge part of facilitating a wedding day yoga practice or other mindfulness ritual is to get to know those involved and assess what’s needed. The focus tends to fall on breathwork and light, accessible poses rather than an intensive practice, all the better to keep the offering simple and (most importantly) stress free.
“I tailor the practice by what I see and feel,” says Hawkins. “Sometimes, that’s a playful flow with partner work, and other times it’s working on breathwork to reset the nervous system and bring them back to a place of calm.” Classes can be curated for brides alone, bridal parties, couples, or even as an element of the reception—the choice is yours.
Wedding day yoga may seem like just another thing to fit into a very full day, but when approached thoughtfully, this choice has the potential to make everything else feel more easeful and fun.
“On a day full of movement, a wedding day yoga practice offers stillness,” she Steffens. “That stillness often becomes the moment couples remember most.”
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