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Ceremony Chairs

knottie22835c1e3bdd459bknottie22835c1e3bdd459b newb
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in Wedding Etiquette Forum
Hi everyone,

I’ve never posted here and hope this is the right place.

We are planning for a wedding of about 50 guests, and are have the ceremony and reception at 2 different locations. My question is, is it ok to not supply chairs for the ceremony? Or only supply a few chairs for those who can’t stand for long periods of time due to medical issues? Our ceremony will be 10 minutes, 15 minutes at most. Our reception venue supplies the chairs we will need for that. 

Thanks everyone!
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Re: Ceremony Chairs

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    climbingsingleclimbingsingle member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    knottie22835c1e3bdd459b said:
    Hi everyone,

    I’ve never posted here and hope this is the right place.

    We are planning for a wedding of about 50 guests, and are have the ceremony and reception at 2 different locations. My question is, is it ok to not supply chairs for the ceremony? Or only supply a few chairs for those who can’t stand for long periods of time due to medical issues? Our ceremony will be 10 minutes, 15 minutes at most. Our reception venue supplies the chairs we will need for that. 

    Thanks everyone!
    How are you going to determine who needs a chair? Are you aware of medical conditions of all your guests? For instance, I broke my ankle a few weeks ago. I haven't really told many people - just the ones that needed to know. And if I were attending a wedding, I'd assume there'd be seating for me, and that I wouldn't need to let anyone know beforehand to please have a chair available for me. 

    So, yes. You need to have seating for you guests. Even if the ceremony is only planned to run for 15 minutes, you're not taking into account that people will most definitely be arriving early. Even if your ceremony starts on time, you're already expecting people to be standing for far too long. 
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    knottie22835c1e3bdd459bknottie22835c1e3bdd459b newb
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    It is all family members attending, we are aware of medical issues. About half (if not more) of our guests are children. With our ceremony being 50 feet from a playground (with benches) we weren’t sure.

    Thank you for the advice! 
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    MobKazMobKaz member
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    Please have chairs for all invited guests.  As others have stated, guests will arrive early.  Your ceremony may start a little late. 

    Depending on the formality of your wedding, guests may not care to stand in heels for 30+ minutes (ceremony time + additional arrival/dismissal time).  If you are taking photos after the ceremony, guests will also need to sit.  I would think because children will be in attendance, they would most be in need of a chair to signal to them expected behavior.




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    MyNameIsNotMyNameIsNot member
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    You really need chairs for everyone. Many people are quite private about their medical issues and would be embarrassed to mention them or admit that they need a chair. Meanwhile, people who don't need chairs may sit without realizing they are limited, putting you or staff in a position where they'd have to go around putting people on the spot.  

    On top of that, limiting chairs means you're inevitably going to end up with people in the back who can't see over taller people and miss the whole thing. 
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    banana468banana468 member
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    Please have a seat for every person.  Even if you're dealing with people who are all perfectly healthy you can have one rough night and that person who has an injury that week isn't going to call you the week of your wedding.  Or you could be like me and I'm 5'4" and want to be able to see as well as my 6'4" brother.  Or if you have kids there they want seats because without them they'll want to be held by the other standing adults.

    Or you can have a bunch of people who are fine but they'll be hissing like snakes because you made them stand.  Or you run late and they're standing and tired.  Get the chairs. 
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    MesmrEweMesmrEwe member
    First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Yes, even if your ceremony is 2 to 5 minutes, you still need to provide chairs for all of your guests attending the ceremony! 

    Even though your ceremony is short, your guests will likely be there 10-30 minutes ahead of time before the ceremony.  Plus, some will have had to walk further than they otherwise might be comfortable doing in shoes that aren't comfortable to do so, guests may have mobility issues you don't know about, bunions, etc.
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    Jen4948Jen4948 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Yes, have chairs for everyone.

    Just because you're not aware of someone's medical need for seating now doesn't mean that they won't have one by the time of your wedding.
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