Ceremony Seating Guidelines

Ushers are responsible for seating the guests of the ceremony. They should know every guest and have the seating plan to follow. You can enlist a few of groomsmen to be ushers, if no, then ask some friends or relatives to play this role.

The first rows or pews are reserved for the members of two families. The left side is always for bride's family and guests and the right side is for groom's family and guests. If it's Jewish wedding, then the right side is for bride's family and the left side is for groom's family.

The first row is reserved for the parents of the two sides. The second row is for the grandparents and siblings, who are not engaged in the ceremony. This row can be shared among aunts and uncles, cousins. If there's not enough space, then they are seated on the third row.

In case the parents of one side are divorced, then the ushers need to seat two families separately in order to avoid tough issues. The parent who raised the child and their spouse (your stepfather or stepmother) are seated in the front row. Then the other parent and their spouse sit in the row behind your family (it's usually the third or the fourth row). This rule isn't broken, even if bride's father is hosting the wedding. Stepparents and birth parents can actually share the front row, if they get along well with each other. This has to be discussed with all sides in advance to avoid awkward moments.

In case your mother is a widow, she doesn't need to sit alone in the front row. She may ask somebody to accompany her during the ceremony. This special guest sits in the front row, and the usher needs to know it.

Now let's see who is seated first and last. First of all the guests should take their seats. By the way, if there are more guests from one side and they don't have enough seats, then they can be seated on the other side of the aisle.

The members of the family are the last to be seated. The elderly are seated first. The stepparents are always seated before the parents, and this protocol is followed with all steps, for instance, first step-grandparents, then grandparents, etc. The mother of the groom is seated before the mother of the bride. The mother of the bride is seated last. Seating her actually means that the ceremony is about to begin.