Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions

What to do with grandparents for processional/program/escorts?

Hi Knotties

It's getting to that time where I have to actually start planning the ceremony itself and I am a little unsure of how grandparents fit into the picture. 

I've got three grandmothers (grandpa divorced and remarried before I was born) and two grandfathers and FI has one grandmother and one grandfather. All are getting corsages/bouts. 

I know that they get seats in the front couple of rows (FI's will be in the front row with his parents.  My grandparents will be in the second row behind my parents and 4 siblings).   And I know that traditionally the mother of the groom followed by the mother of the bride are the last people seated which signifies that the wedding is about to begin.

So I guess my question is: do grandparents and mother of the bride and groom get included in the program as being part of the processional?  Or are they listed separately?  Are grandparents included in the program usually?

I never pick up programs at the weddings I go to so I have no idea what's expected. 

Also, if the grandfathers are still in the picture, can they be the escort? Or do the grandfathers sit and then the grandmothers get escorted later?  

I would especially like to know the "traditional" way this is dealt with because we're dealing with grandparents who've probably been to a lot of weddings and have expectations about how its done. 

Re: What to do with grandparents for processional/program/escorts?

  • my grandmother processed down the aisle (accompanied by my brother in law), and she was written into the program as such...ours was a jewish ceremony, so this is traditional for us, but i think it's nice in all cases.  a wedding is about the joining of two families, which includes parents and grandparents if you are lucky enough for them to be alive at the time. i think having your grandparents walk down the aisle is a nice idea (grandma went first, before anyone, followed by DH's parents, his brother and him, then mine), provided they can walk down on their own or in a wheel chair. 

    i think that if they are not walking down the aisle, but you want to recognize them, you could write in the program something like: "We feel blessed to have our grandparents (names) with us on this momentous day" or something like that.  they're acknowledged, but it does not imply they are part of the wedding party or processional. 

    v.
  • Our grandmothers will be listed in the programs.  I don't know if it's tradition, but I know it's something my Grandma will appreciate.

    If any of our grandfathers were alive, yes, we would have them escort their wives.
  • I am just listing our parents in the program. There is not right or wrong way to do this. We have a 18 person wedding party, flower girls, ushers, and parents who are all remarried so there won't be room for more people on the program.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • H and I both have one Grandma living. H's Grandma was escorted by one of her son's, which was H Uncle and Godfather. He was also a GM. My Grandma was escorted by H's younger brother, also a GM.
  • Thanks ladies! It never even occurred to me that I could ask an uncle to escort them.  That's a great idea!
  • FI's grandfather and grandmother processed in together and so did his mother and father. 

    In our programs, the beginning of the ceremony was listed like this:
    Prelude
    Seating of the Parents and Grandparents
    Bridal Procession
    ...

    We also had a section of the program titled "Ceremony Participants" where we listed our parents and grandparents along with the wedding party, ushers, and readers.
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