Seating families and friends at your ceremony can be a very confusing job. Where should they all sit during the ceremony? Today there are parents, stepparents, divorced parents, grandparents, and the rest of the family. You need a plan! Your ushers usually will seat all of the guests at your ceremony. You should have one usher for every 50 guests. If you are having a small intimate ceremony, you might just want to put someone in charge of "touchy" seating issues. Print out a list of where each family member should be seated. This makes the job a lot easier for the ushers.
The bride's side in a Christian ceremony is on the left side. The groom's is on the right. Jewish service is just the opposite. When seating guests you should instruct your ushers to keep the seating even. If the bride has more guests than the groom, then the ushers should even things out. Some relatives and friends will insist on sitting on the side that they belong. If so, let them sit there. Seat any elderly guests near the front. Guests in wheelchairs should be on the end of the row. Immediate family members are seated just before the ceremony begins. Brothers and sisters should be seated before grandparents. They may sit in the front row with the parents or with the grandparents in the second row. The groom's family members are always seated first, with the exception of the parents. If the parents are divorced, then the parent who primarily raised the bride or groom should sit in the front row with their spouse. The grandparents should be in the second row. The other parent should be seated in the third row with their spouse, and that set of grandparents, behind. This does not mean that parents of either should not sit together. They may all sit in the front row. This is a personal situation and should be discussed in advance to avoid embarrassing moments. Step-relatives may be seated directly behind the immediate families. The mother of the bride is always the last to be seated. The groom's mother is seated just before her. In a Jewish ceremony the parents escort the bride and the groom down the aisle. There are no set rules for seating at ceremonies. The above is just an example. If you want to mix and match, go right ahead. There are no etiquette police out there to arrest you. Do what makes you and your family most comfortable.
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