Bride/groom "sides" in church?

spanglerwedding2012

I have a small family and the majority of my guests are coming from out of town/state - I know that not everyone will make it.

My FI has a larger family, all from Philly. There will be significantly more people there for his side than mine. I'm OK with this - but since we are having a Catholic church ceremony, it will be noticable.

Also, his family is Catholic and mine is not. I feel like the ceremony will be awkward since there are less guests on my side and few are familiar with Catholic traditions. Can we skip the bride/groom "sides" and mix everyone together? How have other people handled lopsided guest lists?

kristinrotondo

We are in the same situation, as far as family size goes - we're mixing it up in the ceremony AND reception. 

mana8503

No sides for us either.  FI will only have like 5 people from his family, and most of his buddies are in the army so doubtful any will be there...

And I just went to a catholic wedding last weekend, no sides for this reason. 

paprika28

We're lucky enough to have a pretty even amount, but we're still not splitting it. Whoever wants to sit on whatever side, can.

rachelk456

We're not gettin married in a church but I've never been to a wedding where they did split up the sides!

jelybeancg

I think people will sit where ever they want. If you are having ushers they can ask where the person would prefer to sit. We went to an outdoor wedding once where it was hot as you know what so every one sat on the side with shade. One whole side was completely empty. No one cared and they have a very happy marriage today. Honestly, not something to worry about. Especially, 10 months in advance.

spanglerwedding2012

Oh I know it's nothing to worry about - I was just at a Catholic wedding last weekend where one side of the church was full and the other side practically empty. It seemed awkward and got me wondering about what to do for ours.

My FI's fam is super traditional - but I'm glad to see people aren't so strict on this. I'd much rather have everyone mixed together.

[Deleted User]

You described our wedding only I am Catholic, from Philadelphia with a huge family and H is CoE, tiny family, from England.  

Many of our friends sat on the groom's side.  It's was very even.  

We did not have a mass b/c he is CoE and we didn't want one, the church recommends this anyway when one partner is not Catholic.  

H said people told him after the church that the service was very Anglican they thought.  I pointed out CoE and Catholic is pretty much the same thing. 

RecoveringActor

We are pretty evenly split... but 2 years ago when I went to my friend's wedding in a Catholic Church, I was friends with both the bride and the groom.  I chose to sit on the groom's side because the bride's side already had  a ton of people, where the groom's side looked less full.  People are going to sit where they want to.  I wouldn't let it stress you out.