Ceremony door sign, OK?

wabanzi

My question only makes sense if you understand the layout of our venue.

Our ceremony/cocktail hour/reception is all in one location-a historical old courthouse.  The ceremony will be in the restored courtroom (which is gorgeous!).  There are 3 doors into this room: The front (near where the judge would sit), the middle (where the lawyers would be which is also where we will be during the ceremony) and the back (the pews). The front door  will remain locked locked throughout per our request.  Before the ceremony, guests will enter through the middle door.  I will be in an office room just off the back door waiting.  

Once the wedding starts, any guest that arrives late should enter through the back door, but since it is through that little office space, they may not be that obvious to them.  And every wedding I've been to, there is always at least one guest (or several) that arrive late.  I've even been to one where a late guest cut in front of the bride during her processional to get to a seat. Unbelievable--and I don't think any of my guests would do such a thing, but late…sure it happens.

My wedding coordinator suggested a sign she would place on the middle door once the ceremony starts since it cannot be locked. It reads:

Ceremony in Progress

Please use the next door to enter once the processional has ended.  Thank you. (with an arrow pointing the direction)

With the arrow, it will be clear where to go.  If they enter through the middle, well --they will enter into the physical middle of the ceremony, so that's not good for anyone.  I just don't want to be insulting to their intelligence.  If that back door was more obvious, I would skip the sign.  I just have never seen a sign like this at a wedding before, so I am unsure of the wording/use.  I don't want to embarrass my guests or leave them out in the hall just because they are a little late.

ETA: I have no idea why the different font/spacing.  But I can't seem to fix it.

JCbride2015

wabanzi said:

My question only makes sense if you understand the layout of our venue.

Our ceremony/cocktail hour/reception is all in one location-a historical old courthouse.  The ceremony will be in the restored courtroom (which is gorgeous!).  There are 3 doors into this room: The front (near where the judge would sit), the middle (where the lawyers would be which is also where we will be during the ceremony) and the back (the pews). The front door  will remain locked locked throughout per our request.  Before the ceremony, guests will enter through the middle door.  I will be in an office room just off the back door waiting.  

Once the wedding starts, any guest that arrives late should enter through the back door, but since it is through that little office space, they may not be that obvious to them.  And every wedding I've been to, there is always at least one guest (or several) that arrive late.  I've even been to one where a late guest cut in front of the bride during her processional to get to a seat. Unbelievable--and I don't think any of my guests would do such a thing, but late…sure it happens.

My wedding coordinator suggested a sign she would place on the middle door once the ceremony starts since it cannot be locked. It reads:

Ceremony in Progress

Please use the next door to enter once the processional has ended.  Thank you. (with an arrow pointing the direction)

With the arrow, it will be clear where to go.  If they enter through the middle, well --they will enter into the physical middle of the ceremony, so that's not good for anyone.  I just don't want to be insulting to their intelligence.  If that back door was more obvious, I would skip the sign.  I just have never seen a sign like this at a wedding before, so I am unsure of the wording/use.  I don't want to embarrass my guests or leave them out in the hall just because they are a little late.

As a late guest, I would think this sign was helpful, not rude.  

But if your WC will be available to place the sign, won't she be available to direct latecomers as to where/when to enter?  That sounds like the most polite and helpful way to do it.

And BTW your venue sounds AWESOME.  An historical courthouse?  Yes please!

HisGirlFriday13

I would also find the sign helpful, not rude.

beethery

@wabanzi I think you're in the clear with the sign. Sounds reasonable.

Also, the forums like to add (or take away) weird formatting options sometimes. I've learned to dig through the HTML and edit it myself, but I don't recommend that if you are not familiar with coding. Nobody will mind as long as it isn't impossible to read  

Weird text formatting is the norm here.

Jen4948

This sign sounds helpful.

MairePoppy

I would be embarrassed if I walked through the most obvious door and found myself in the middle of the ceremony. The sign is fine, but late people, who are rushing in, may not read the sign. It seems like it would be one of the DOC's duties to stand at the door and point guests in the right direction. 

wabanzi

Thanks everyone.  I'll go ahead with the sign.  If I tie the sign through the large handles of the door, they can't miss it (no way to open the door without using the handles). I don't think I want the DoC to stand there for 30 minutes (I need her to oversee the cocktail hour set up), but definitely for the first 10 minutes--or at least until the processional is over.  

JCbride2015: Thanks :-) It is an awesome venue.  They have restored it beautifully.  Unfortunately, they just started some new renovation work in the main hall where our cocktail hour is taking place that has rattled my nerves a bit.  Tomorrow I will be over there to view how they clean it up for another wedding this weekend.  I hope this will allay my worries.

melbenso

I think the sign is a good idea.  As a guest, I would be embarrassed if I arrived late and ended up entering the ceremony in a manner that interrupted it.

wrigleyville

It's helpful. Also, it's not a cutesy poem written on a chalkboard, so that's a bonus.

wabanzi

wrigleyville said:

It's helpful. Also, it's not a cutesy poem written on a chalkboard, so that's a bonus.

Hilarious.  

I have no poem signs.  But, I do have a chalkboard speech bubble for the photo booth, so maybe one of my guests will write one for me.

harper0813

I'm glad your sign doesn't rhyme. It sounds fine and not rude at all.

SammiNJonni

I would find the sign helpful I would never want to interupt the ceremony.