Seating Guests

Do you have any suggestions on how to seat all the people at our reception?

Many brides say seating arrangements at the reception is their biggest headache. Don't seat older guests near the band or kitchen. Seat people who share hobbies or occupations together. Single guests and teens or children can be seated together. Consider a chaperone or entertainment on children's tables. Seat divorced parents separately, each with their own table of family and friends. Seat spouses or guests of attendants at head table if bridal party is small, or together on one table if bridal party is large. Consider seating smokers together and away from non-smokers if possible. In EZ Wedding Planner, there is a seating feature that lets you easily arrange and rearrange all of your guests (either by number in party or by those who have said they will be attending). The seating program will let you add, size, and populate reception tables.

Seat Groom's Parents

Where do I sit the groom's parents? I need to give you some information first. His mother has remarried, so the groom has a step-father. He calls his mother's ex-husband his daddy since this man adopted him when he married his mother but his biological father will also be at the wedding. I have not met his biological father. He wants to escort his mother in and the man he calls daddy. A friend of his is going to be his best man and I don't know how to seat these 3 people. Please help me with this.

His mother and step-father would be seated in the first row of people on the groom's side - current husband would sit with his wife (in non-Jewish ceremonies this is on the right as you face the front). His biological father could be seated in the third row - right side. Second row could be siblings or grandparents.

I'm not clear if there are two step-fathers here (you say "daddy" is his mother's ex-husband?). If so, you could space them with a row in between each - unless they get along with each other, in which case they can be seated together if you and they like.

Many times the very first row is left empty in case someone from the wedding party needs to sit down quickly, so all guests are seated beginning in the second row. This practice may vary by location and officiant.

Wedding Seating

I need seating layout for wedding ceremony. Where do parents, brothers/sisters, grand parents, aunts/uncles and friends sit?

In a Christian wedding, the bride's family and friends are seated on the left side of the church facing the altar. The groom's family and friends will sit on the right side of the church. In a Jewish wedding, this is reversed. Also, all parents remain standing under the Huppah throughout the ceremony.

When bride's parents are divorced, but not remarried, if they are congenial, they might sit together in the left front row at Christian weddings. Otherwise the parent who raised you (and guest or spouse) sits in the left front pew and the other parent (and guest or spouse) sit in the third row on the left side. This is also an individual decision, depending on their relationships and preferences. For groom's parents, simply reverse the seating (using the right side). At Jewish ceremonies, women sit on the left and men on the right.

If one family has many more guests than the other, everyone may sit together without assigned sides of the church. This will even out the seating and fill up the church from the front to back.

Parents of both sides sit in the first or second pew on their respective sides (often times the first pew is left empty in case someone from the bridal party must sit down during the ceremony). Grandparents sit in the next pew on the outside (next to the isle). Siblings can also sit in the grandparents pew. You can reserve additional pews for other honored guests (like family of flower girl and ring bearer, etc.) The reserved pews can be marked with flowers, etc. or the ushers can just seat the guests behind the reserved pews.

Guests who arrive after the bride's mother has been seated should not be seated by the ushers. They may simply slip into an empty pew behind the other seated guests.