Where do we go during Mass?

calli0pe00

My maid of honor and I were just wondering- when you get married in a ceremony that includes mass, where does everyone go? I've seen photos of couples sitting in chairs or kneeling on invidual kneeling thinngs but I'm still not sure how it works. Will our bridesmiads and groomsmen ever stand on the altar with us? Thanks so much in advance for any help.

SaraAndrew2010

At our wedding, the BMs and GMs spent most of the time in the first pew in the church.  When it came time to exchange the vows and rings, the entire wedding party did come up and stand in front of the altar with us.  They stayed standing there through the Prayers of the Faithful.

I know every church varies in terms of what the bride and groom do.  We sat in chairs on the side of the altar that were angled out towards the congregation.  Our priest instructed us to stand in place during the parts of the mass when everyone else kneeled.

ETA: The BMs and GMs also stood up in front with us at the very beginning of the mass (right after the procession) and again at the very end before we walked back down the aisle.

calli0pe00

Thanks so much! That was very helpful.

Calypso1977

we only had a MOH and a BM.  the priest said they could sit in teh first pew or on teh altar with us.  we opted to have them on the altar with us since they were our witnesses and only attendants.

in my cousin's wedding, i was in the WP and we sat the the front pew.

Riss91

We had our 2 MOH and BM in chairs on the altar and the rest in the 1st pew. We sat in chairs right in front of the altar, MOH were on our left and BM were on our right. I've seen it where the bride, groom, MOH and BM are all to the right of the altar as well.

mica178

We had our MOHs and BMs up at the altar with us in chairs, and our BMs and GMs sat in the first pews.

[Deleted User]

Our wedding was exactly the same as SaraAndrew described.

bibliophile2010

At churches where they use kneelers, the bride and groom generally kneel in those places where others described sitting or standing, from what I understand.

I've only seen sitting, but FI really wants to kneel, so I think we'll probably go with that.

bel138

We never go up on the altar or kneel, so we stood behind the tetrapod in the middle of the aisle. The only time we sat down was for the homily. For the most part, the BMs and GMs stood in front of the first pew. I thought they would get to do the standing and sitting the same as a normal liturgy, but during the ceremony, they all just stayed there! I should have made it more clear to them that they should sit down when everyone else does and not follow us. I felt bad for the girls standing there for 90 minutes in their heels.

Calypso1977

we had chairs and kneelers as did our MOH and BM.