Seating Arrangements at the Wedding Ceremony

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Typically, before the processional, special guests are lead to their seats by the ushers in the following order:

General special guests
Grandmothers of the bride and groom
Groom's mother
Bride's mother

The parents of the bride sit in the first pew on the left-hand side facing the altar while the parents of the groom sit in the first pew on the right. Several pews behind the first will be reserved for immediate family members of the bride (left-hand side) and the groom (right-hand side). The bridesmaids and groomsmen also may be seated in the reserved section. The bridal couple may include pew cards in the invitations of the guests who are to be seated in the reserved section. Upon arrival at the ceremony, the guests would present the card to the ushers to identify themselves as reserved seating guests.

If the parents are divorced, then the seating gets a bit more complicated. If the divorced parents are still great friends, then they may sit at the first pew as if they were married. Their new spouses or companions would sit in the reserved section behind the first pew. If there is bitterness between the divorced parents (and unless the father has a closer relationship with the bride/groom), then the mother sits in the front pew with her companion. The mother's immediate family members would then sit directly behind her, and the father and his family would sit behind them. If the mother is not close with the new wife, the new wife may need to sit even further back — outside the reserved section. This arrangement would hold even if the father pays for the entire wedding. The only time a father and his new spouse would sit in the front pew is if he holds a closer relationship with the bride/groom than the mother.

If a parent is widowed, he or she may have someone close (a companion, special friend, or family member) sit next to them. That guest, though, has no special role in the wedding unless the guest is engaged to the parent or is a very close friend/family member of the bride and/or groom.

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