Taking sides

fhredshwa

I'll admit I have done zero research on this, but this question came to me while I was reading the message boards and since I was here, I thought I'd post!

In every wedding I've ever been to, it seems that for the actual ceremony the bride always stands on the left and the groom on the right.  Is there some kind of significance to this?  I actually prefer my profile from the left vs. the right (strange? perhaps!) and would like to stand on the right vs. the left.  I asked a couple of girlfriends if they were aware of this (standing left vs. right, not which profile view they liked best. haha!) and neither of them could think why this is.

Anyone? :-)

daria24

In Jewish weddings the bride stands on the right. 

I stood on the left because H has a huge scar on his right cheek, and he preferred that he have his "good" cheek facing the audience (and the photographer).

Some religions require you to stand a certain way, so check with your officiant first. Otherwise stand however you want. 

willywally5

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_taking-sides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:36Discussion:84200d18-6060-4519-9039-622d699ce593Post:873c1ace-9952-48ff-a194-0695641cb6c6">Re: Taking sides</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>It was originally placed that way so that the groom and groomsmen would have access to their swords if they needed to defend the bride during the ceremony. </strong> If you perfer the left, then go for it.
Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]

<div>Interesting! Never knew that. </div>

Lisa50

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_taking-sides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:36Discussion:84200d18-6060-4519-9039-622d699ce593Post:93e90892-68f9-4083-81fe-8cdd8e11719d">Taking sides</a>:
[QUOTE]I'll admit I have done zero research on this, but this question came to me while I was reading the message boards and since I was here, I thought I'd post! In every wedding I've ever been to, it seems that for the actual ceremony the bride always stands on the left and the groom on the right.  Is there some kind of significance to this?  I actually prefer my profile from the left vs. the right (strange? perhaps!) and would like to stand on the right vs. the left.  I asked a couple of girlfriends if they were aware of this (standing left vs. right, not which profile view they liked best. haha!) and neither of them could think why this is. Anyone? :-)
Posted by fhredshwa[/QUOTE]

And there's this, from brideandgroom.com:

Traditionally, the bride stands to the left side of the groom. This was much more than meaningless etiquette. Among the Northern European barbarians (a name given to them by the Romans), a groom placed his captured bride to his left to protect her, as he kept his right hand free to use for defense.