Would this make me a terrible person?

katiebean1 · January 2012

I am really torn on this decision and I need some input. Our ceremony and reception are at the same venue, the ceremony will be outside, the reception inside. To rent chairs for the ceremony it will be somewhere around $800. I really don't want to spend $800 on chairs for our 10 minute ceremony. So here is what I was thinking. Guests would arrive at the venue and go straight into the reception room. When it is time for the ceremony they will be directed outside. I would have chairs for the elderly/people who need them and everyone else would stand. Is this a terrible idea? They would only be standing for a max 10-15 minutes.

lbarr088 · January 2012

How many guests will be at the ceremony? If it's small/intimate I would say you could probably get away with it but with a larger crowd it's going to be a bit of a cluterfvck if you don't mind me using that term

Where did you get the price for $800? Was that something you were looking into or the venue? I might look elsewhere if it was the venue, you might be able to find something cheaper for just a basic chair. (even a folding chair)

adktd2boots · January 2012

Are they folding chairs? I've been to many receptions where we had to carry our chairs from the ceremony to the reception. It was really NBD. But then most of the weddings I attend are fairly casual.

AlyssaC417 · January 2012

Do you have to get married outside? We also would have to pay to rent chairs to have an outdoor ceremony. If it rains we do not get a refund on the chairs so we decided to save the money and put it towards open bar beer and wine for the first hour. Is it something that you are stuck on doing or could you maybe just have it inside? If not I would say to me it would not be a big deal but some people probably would not like it at all.

kirab2 · January 2012

my venue can only accomodate 20 chairs in our ceremony location, those will be for our elderly guests. The rest of the people have to stand. we are also only doing a 10-15 min ceremony. I think people can deal for that long.

morenachica110 · January 2012

I don't know. For future reference, I would not bring this up on any other board because they will rip you to shreds. On that note, I think it's definitely ridiculous to spend that much on chairs for a super short amount of time. That being said, I think you should offer chairs to every guest. Since they're in the same place, why not have the chairs set up at the ceremony site befor ehand and afterwards, move them to the reception area? That's what we're doing. The GM will probably do it for us (even though its fax paus and considered rude on the other boards), but we both have known them for at least 5 years and have been through a lot together. Moving chairs will be NBD for them.

katiebean1 · January 2012

I don't have to have it outside, we could do it in the reception room, but I really don't want to do that. We cannot take the chairs from inside to the outside. And that is a price from another company, from the venue they cost more believe it or not. I would NEVER bring this up elsewhere, just here, I figured you guys wouldn't tear me to shreds about this =p

mamameech · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_september-2012-weddings_would-this-terrible-person?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a464c18c-2e4d-469b-8eae-3865079cb9cfDiscussion:44b06bd8-d510-41e3-8149-83246e2a68c5Post:f5fec66b-860a-4de6-bb75-202404559a40">Re: Would this make me a terrible person?</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't know. For future reference, I would not bring this up on any other board because they will rip you to shreds. On that note, I think it's definitely ridiculous to spend that much on chairs for a super short amount of time. That being said, I think you should offer chairs to every guest. Since they're in the same place, why not have the chairs set up at the ceremony site befor ehand and afterwards, move them to the reception area? That's what we're doing. The GM will probably do it for us (even though its fax paus and considered rude on the other boards), but we both have known them for at least 5 years and have been through a lot together. Moving chairs will be NBD for them.
Posted by morenachica110[/QUOTE]

This - I can imagine how you'd get ripped apart even tho it seems totally logical.
$800 is a lot of money for chairs for 15 mins. Yes most people could stand but ya, it's a lil faux-pas. But $800 is just as faux-pas! lol
I like the suggestion above my morenachinca110 :)

SCogs18 · January 2012

I think it's really important for you to have chairs for your guests, but $800 is a lot of money. Could you get a qote from another company? Are those for fancy chivari chairs? What about plastic folding chairs? I'd do some more research before 86ing the idea completely. You at least need chairs for elderly guests, there is no way my 86 year old grandma would be able to stand for my entire wedding ceremony.

Good luck! (and good thinking not posting this question elsewhere!)

morenachica110 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_september-2012-weddings_would-this-terrible-person?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:a464c18c-2e4d-469b-8eae-3865079cb9cfDiscussion:44b06bd8-d510-41e3-8149-83246e2a68c5Post:28833cbe-1cf4-45d7-a40f-c6dd2bbee294">Re: Would this make me a terrible person?</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't have to have it outside, we could do it in the reception room, but I really don't want to do that.<strong> We cannot take the chairs from inside to the outside.</strong> And that is a price from another company, from the venue they cost more believe it or not. I would NEVER bring this up elsewhere, just here, I figured you guys wouldn't tear me to shreds about this =p
Posted by katiebean1[/QUOTE]

<div>Why not? Not being rude, just curious...</div>

smartlypretty · January 2012

Please, please, please read this. Every butt needs a chair! I promise you, you will regret not doing this. My cousin had a standing ceremony. Everyone kinda milled around waiting for them to arrive, which seemed okay at first. But then they arrived and everyone rushed to form sort of a crowd. I'd say there were around 75 people. It was not orderly, with everyone trying to move around to get in front to see. I couldn't see the ceremony (I'm only 5'2) and it sucked. And I was like in this crowd of people around me and couldn't really move.

In summary, you need chairs. Just from personal experience. The ceremony is the most important part anyway! And you want good pictures of this!

katiebean1 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_september-2012-weddings_would-this-terrible-person?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:a464c18c-2e4d-469b-8eae-3865079cb9cfDiscussion:44b06bd8-d510-41e3-8149-83246e2a68c5Post:93393993-246c-484a-b4a9-d56f0e03dfbf">Re: Would this make me a terrible person?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Would this make me a terrible person? : Why not? Not being rude, just curious...
Posted by morenachica110[/QUOTE]
The venue won't allow the clubhouse chairs to go outside. I wish I could do that though =/

morenachica110 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_september-2012-weddings_would-this-terrible-person?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:a464c18c-2e4d-469b-8eae-3865079cb9cfDiscussion:44b06bd8-d510-41e3-8149-83246e2a68c5Post:e2d82e5b-364a-47e3-bcc0-f91b091228cb">Re: Would this make me a terrible person?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Would this make me a terrible person? : The venue won't allow the clubhouse chairs to go outside. I wish I could do that though =/
Posted by katiebean1[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>Ahhh... I see your problem now. The venue provides chairs, but won't allow you to take them out, if you rent chairs, it's an ungodly amount of money. Hmmm... have you checked other rental places? Maybe explained the situation? Or maybe look into renting something else liek benches? Ooorrr... are you part of a church (or parents/someone you know)? Maybe the church would let you borrow folding chairs for the ceremony?</div>

cashkitty · January 2012

I definatly think you should have chairs or some sort of seating arrangement. You could end up running dramatically behind and all of the sudden they aren't just standing for 10 mins (if the ceremony will actually even run at that time too), they'll be standing for howeverlong it takes to get started, plus the ceremony. If you absolutely can't budget it for everyone, I would definatly figure a quote for elderly people or anyone else who would need a seat. That seems high for the chair rentals though, I might also check into other rental places and see if you get a smaller price. Good luck though!

[Deleted User] · January 2012

$800 just for chairs outside?! No way. $100-$200 is understandable. If this reception place are used to having ceremony, then having chairs outside shouldn't be a problem for them. $100 for labor and $100 for chairs (excluding decos & bows) for 200 people makes more sense.

jessa1228 · January 2012

I'm going to agree with those that said every butt needs a chair. Like smartly pointed out, things could run late and that 10 minutes can quickly turn to 20 or more. Plus, I wouldn't rely on people to form an "orderly crowd"; I envision people trying to push their way to the front to be able to see.

But yes, $800 is ridiculous for chair rental, so I'm thinking you need to look around and get more quotes from other companies (if you haven't already), or look into some form of "creative seating" (benches, hay bales, etc).

MrsBassPlaya · January 2012

I would be pissed if I went out of my way to attend a wedding and wasn't even provided a chair for the ceremony. Everyone deserves a chair. You mentioned the elderly being provided chairs, but what about parents with kids (assuming they're invited) or anyone injured, etc. Could you imagine trying to keep kids quiet during a ceremony when they can just run around and don't have anywhere to sit down?

I relize $800 is a lot of money, so I would look around for other quotes, but honestly, do you want everyone to remember your wedding as "the wedding where they didn't have enough chairs" or do you want them to remember you two getting married? I say spend the money.

volleygurl0306 · January 2012

I would never pay $800 for chairs. My concern is not so much whether it is an etiquette thing or not to have chairs for everyone because I think a lot of etiquette unnecessary but I would be concerned about it being disorderly and everyone being able to see. Even something as simple as I have a dad who is 6'3" who will obviously be in the front row but no one would be able to see around him if he stood! I was trying to think if you could mock an aisle by roping parts off but people may feel like cattle. Where is your ceremony? Depending on the feel of it maybe you could find an alternative. On the beach or in a park maybe you could lay out big picnic blankets if people won't be too dressed up and hav ethe chairs for the elderly in the back. I like the idea of benches as well. I'd check other places. I don't think it is rude but you want it to run smoothly.

Would this make me a terrible person?

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