Seating of Guests at a Traditional Wedding Ceremony

As guests are escorted by ushers down the aisle at a traditional church wedding,  guests of the bride are seated on the left side of the aisle as you face the alter and guests of the groom are seated on the right side of the aisle.

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2 Responses to Seating of Guests at a Traditional Wedding Ceremony

  1. William says:

    It is not uncommon for the wedding to be at the bride’s home town church, particularly for young couples. In these cases there may be many, many more guests who have come on the bride’s behalf. An usher should still be conscious of this left-right rule and should try to accommodate as many as possible. If it is desired to balance out the seating for appearance or necessity the ushers should try not insist that someone sits on the “wrong” side, but rather try to allow the guests the option by asking a polite leading question such as: “Should I sit you over here on the bride’s side then?”

    Also ushers remember that you don’t know all the guests, so pay attention. I know of a wedding where the bride’s grandmother was mistakenly sat in the back by a friend of the groom because the groom was a suburbanite and the grandmother appeared more rustic. (the grandmother was too polite to make a fuss, unfortunately)

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