Fear of Public Speaking!

Well congratulations firstly! 6 Weeks - How Exciting ?
I think once you've walked up the aisle and you're stood looking at your hubby to be and exchanging vows, you will just forget that anyone else is there and it'll flow out without any worry ?

It may help to try to remember that you are not saying your vows to the guests behind you but you are looking at each other and saying them to each other, the only people who need to actually hear you are the registrar and your 2 witnesses.

Speak to your registrar and maybe have a glass of water ready on the table should you need it. Also remember that there is no rush and you can take as long as you need.

Hope that helps

At my Brother's Registry office Wedding, the room was set out so that he and my SIL didn't face the guests.

They had their backs to the guests and were seated facing the Registrar. That might be an idea, so that you can ignore the 'public' element and just focus on repeating the words.

This is before SIL came in, so you can see my Brother sat on his chair ready with the other chairs arranged behind

I was another one who was very worried about speaking in front of people and admittedly, walking down the aisle was a very strange and disturbing time until I caught my OH's eye... then, that was it. The whole 10-15 minutes were just the three of us (me, him and the registrar) and it was almost a shock when we turned and I remembered there were 50ish people watching us!

Have you tried calming measure before? Things like Rescue Remedy? Might help...?

I play the music at many wedding ceremonies and my experience is that it is extremely rare for either the bride or the groom to have a panic attack during the ceremony. As mentioned above many couples just get completely lost in the moment and can lose track of time and forget there are other people in the room.

Some tips to staying calm, before entering the room take some slow deep breaths. Try to breath from the stomach rather than the chest. This technique calms most people down. If you start to feel any anxiety during the ceremony try to remember just to take some more deep breaths and afterwards sip some water as well. This works for most people. If you're worried about producing sounds concentrate on really pronouncing each syllable clearly when repeating what the registrar says. This should result in clarity and help you focus on the words, helps you stay calm and keeps your mind busy which reduces panic.

I am sure you will have a fabulous ceremony - good luck ?

Thank you everyone for your responses, reading through all of your comments is already starting to make me feel a bit better!

@NorthernLights - That's what I keep reading online! ? Hopefully it is true but unfortunately I won't know until the day ?

@Wedding Photography By Bill Haddon - Yes that is very true, I know I should be thinking rationally about all of this but I just get tunnel vision sometimes!

@Stephisaur - That is actually a great idea, because I think at the moment our seating area is sideways on. I may e-mail tonight and ask the registry office if it is a possibility and, if so, I think I would definitely feel a lot better! Thank you!

@Pooba - So glad I am not the only one! & I am so glad it went well for you, I hope in 6 weeks time I will be saying I had the same experience! ?

@AnthonyWinyardEntertainment - I think it could be the thought of the panic attack which might actually trigger the panic attack in my case, my brain is my worst enemy ? Thank you for all of the tips. I currently do yoga every night which helps with breathing techniques and we chose the wording which required the least amount of words to be spoken! ? So glad that we're not doing long vows or I would be in trouble!

I know I sounds corny to say you won't notice anyone else but it's true. It's just you, your beloved and the registrar. I had no problems (surprisingly!) And other half blubbed so much he couldn't get his words out but he took a couple of minutes to calm himself and we had a minute or two to ourselves with me hugging him and rubbing his back and saying it's OK (see what I mean about everyone else disappears?) And then we were fine.

Noo it doesn't sound corny at all! That's what I am hoping ? & aww bless him! My dad's a crier too but I think I'm more likely to cry than my OH! ? That's lovely. I hope that in 6 weeks time I can come back and say I had the same experience ?

Come back and let us know! If you cry just stop and take a minute. Take a few deep breaths and smile. Then start again. It's just you, him and t he registrar. No need to rush. Noone else there. ?

Thank you for all of your kind words and advice! I really do appreciate it ?