Not having an aisle!

anssett

I'm thinking of a TINY (<20 total people) outdoor wedding. No preset venue. No chairs. Just us and nature. So, I'm trying to think of whether I even want to pretend there's the notion of an aisle or if I just want to keep it super low key. 

All this is in the wild imagination stage. 

mbaete

How long is your ceremony going to last?
I would personally reconsider making 20 friends/family stand in nice clothing and possibly heels in the grass for any  period of time.

Just my opinion.
I wouldn't be so concerned with the aisle as much as I would want to provide my guests with a seat.

Knottie1450123632

evey butt needs a seat. i wouldnt wanna stand especially since most get there before wedding.

WildMagelet

No aisle necessary but you need a chair for every butt.

anssett

My vision was something like: we all walk to the park together, stand for a 10 min ceremony, then walk out. Since it'll be outdoors and in a park heels are not sensible footwear! No attendents, no formalities, just us celebrating us. I don't want to wear white. No train. My family understands that I'm a rugged girl (they lovingly use the term tree-hugger or dirty hippie). 

If there's no chance of people arriving early or us being late (because we're all together) are chairs still that important to you?

missy439

I am in the same boat you are We are having a very casual wedding, with a short ceremony at a lake, then "reception" at the cabins where we will all be staying. All attendees (about 35),  will be going to the ceremony together. Although everyone else on here seems to need a "seat for every butt", I completely disagree. Like you, our wedding is very casual.  Heels are not in the dress code. Most guests will probably be wearing "dressy" flip flops or flats, jeans and collared shirt. Glad to see someone else is going against the grain

RussoWill

FWIW, we had planned for every butt to have a seat.  We ended up getting married on a deck to avoid the water puddling all over the ground around the tent we had set up (7 inches of rain in 1 day!).  Our ceremony lasted no more than 10 minutes and most people were standing because we only had room for a few chairs.  I would plan to have a few chairs for older guests (if you are having any), but no one died at my wedding from standing.  We didn't plan for the standing, but it ended up working out. 

QueerFemme

You need a chair for every person. Yes, even if you are walking in together and walking out together. Its not about whether some will or won't die if they have to stand. If unexpected circumstances occur, and people have to stand, that's one thing. It's another thing all together to PLAN to make your guests uncomfortable.

JoanE2012

Yes, chairs are important and a must have for every guest.

anssett

I'm not trying to be difficult but I don't understand why chairs are so important. I'm not looking for a formal wedding in heels. I think people should sit in the grass if they want. Think hippie. Tree-hugging. Nature-loving. Maybe it would work to bring blankets to lay in the grass! I'm not set on any details yet but I'm curious if you think chairs are so important because they match the vision of formality you expect in a wedding or because you really think my Dad would be angry at standing for 10 minutes.

eureka30030

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_outdoor-weddings_not-having-an-aisle?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:666Discussion:19a3d995-3577-4995-9c10-6aaba3fd5e3cPost:6dd0efa8-cdab-4f44-97b9-aa13a8e7f399">Re: Not having an aisle!</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm not trying to be difficult but I don't understand why chairs are so important. I'm not looking for a formal wedding in heels. I think people should sit in the grass if they want. Think hippie. Tree-hugging. Nature-loving.<strong> Maybe it would work to bring blankets to lay in the grass!</strong> I'm not set on any details yet but I'm curious if you think chairs are so important because they match the vision of formality you expect in a wedding or because you really think my Dad would be angry at standing for 10 minutes.
Posted by anssett[/QUOTE]<div>
Yeah, I'm not sure what were doing for seating either (we are also doing hippy outdoors in a redwood park) but I pinned this pic to my ideas board & thought it might appease those saying "seat for every butt", while still keeping your hippy grass between your toes feel.<div>
<a href="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/images/store/1/6/a15e6527-7263-42c1-b66c-d0589c0db760.large.jpg" title="Click to view a larger photo" class="PhotoLink"> <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/images/store/1/6/a15e6527-7263-42c1-b66c-d0589c0db760.medium.jpg" alt="" /></a>
</div></div>

anssett

Squeee. It looks like croquet mallets and acoustic guitars will be pulled out soon. If we wanted to be more ceremonial we could make quilts that are special. I'm learning to sew (so far I've only made a lab coat fitted to my measurements). That could be a fun project to practice. There could be images of science and love and cherry blossoms and philosophy and guinea pigs and all the things we love! 

akcrowe

I'm with you, no chairs necessary. Especially if your ceremony is only 10 minutes. We have toyed with the idea of everyone forming a circle around us since our guest list is at 12 (I think). I don't have the wedding gene, but there is something about walking down an "aisle", even if it's not a traditional aisle that I still want to do. Then the friends and family closing us in. We may have a chair for my grandpa.. he is almost 90.

Do whatever feels right for you two! Remember at the end of the day it's your wedding Go with your gut.

QueerFemme

A chair is important because its incredibly uncomfortable to stand in one place for 2040 minutes. I realize you are earthy, and you think everyone will be thrilled to stand or lay on a blanket in the woods, but I can't imagine every single guest would be happy or comfortable with that. If you are 100 positive that no one has knee, back, hip foot problems or discomfort and no one has grass or other allergies where laying on the grass would be problematic, then knock yourself out. I personaly still think its rude.

QueerFemme

Ps. Previous poster said "its your wedding day". That is true, except as soon as you invite other people, it stops being just about you, and you need to start taking your guest's comfort into consideration.

siestadreams

I'm considering not doing traditional seating. We are getting married on the beach and I saw a cute idea to buy a bunch of sheets and put them in a cute bucket or box with a sign that says 'grab a sheet and have a seat'. My guests are all family or very close friends, less than 25 people total including myself, my groom,and our two kids.The oldest guest will be my dad who is 50 and he's walking me down the aisle. Everyone else is younger than 30 and nobody hs back/knee problems. We are a very laid back couple so I know it won't be a problem for our guests. Do what you think works for your guests. Every wedding is different.

MrsHoward2Be

im getting married on the beach a quick ceremony no extras! Im not providing chairs. I may make an aisle just for my dad can walk me down it. im have 15 guests total.

aragx6

If it's so small why can't you just get some chairs -- it won't be very expensive. It's the gracious thing to do as a host.

pjmaguire1953

We are getting married on our dock but I can't imagine not having seats for the guests. That being said we are older and therefore our guests are older as well.

Abbyjensen

Considering how small your wedding is, I don't really think you need chairs for everyone. You know everyone intimately to know whether or not they will be comfortable standing for ten minutes, and probably speak with them often enough that the nature of your wedding will come up in conversation.

CreoleBride30

You can truly solve that problem by asking your guests what would be more comfortable for them. You do not have to be conformed by what the "wedding industry" or other people tell you you must have. If your guests are okay with not having a seat then do it. However, if you have a few that need seating, provide them with one.  I would personally get a poll from the guests since it is a small wedding. I can tell you this...someone will ALWAYS complain about something...you cannot please everyone. Have fun...it's all about your guests celebrating you and your future husband lives together. Congratulations!

Cuss10

I'm having a beach wedding and I'm not providing seats for 125 of my guests. There is a pavilion in the park where people will congregate when they show up, this will be our cocktail hour. Then they will walk over to the beach where we will have 6 chairs on the patio for grandparents. I'm doing a very quick march for the girls down the aisle. The little kids are old enough to understand what to do with no issues. I'm a fast walker and I'm abbreviating my song down the aisle. No readings, no other frills just vows and rings then a quick kiss, mug for the camera and move it to the reception.

Peledreamsofrain

I'm going to have to vote for providing some sort of seating arrangement too.  Unless you know for a fact that all of your guests are in 100% good physical condition, it's kind of mean to make someone with a knee injury make a choice between being in pain or sitting in a nice dress on the bare ground without forewarning.  As a person who spent years in the service industry, and now has to stand on a knee with no cartilage, just bone grinding on bone at the age of 29, I can assure you it's more common than most people realize.

Now that doesn't mean that you have to go against your original vision of a truely earthy wedding.  Have hand-woven blankets with love symbols from around the world set up, or earth-friendly cushions to sit on the ground.  Think of the lovely pictures those would make.

If your heart is truely set on not providing seating at the ceremony, let your guests know ahead of time in some way.  That way if someone has an injury, and is concerned, they can bring it up in private with you, or bring their own cushion or blanket to sit on.