Although the wedding protocol is usually quite clear in terms of the church entrance, often neither the bride and groom nor the guests know how to act or where to sit before, during and after the ceremony. And that’s why we are here! To resolve your doubts…
After so many months of organising everything down to the smallest detail, it is understandable that you want everything to go perfectly, just like it’s common that, with the big day just around the corner, many questions about the entrance and exit to the church come up.
Well, here we will tell you everything about the wedding protocol so that everything goes perfectly.
Take note of everything!
Order of the church entrance
Firstly, the guests enter
According to the wedding protocol, the correct order is that the guests enter the church as soon as they start arriving and, in turn, they take a seat.
The polite thing to do is to arrive between fifteen minutes to half an hour before the ceremony, which will guarantee that everyone is in their seat when the bride and groom enter.
In terms of the location, highlight that the first few rows of seats are reserved for direct family, that being, for the parents, children if they have them, siblings, siblings-in-law, cousins, grandparents and witnesses.
The witnesses and the people that are going to do speeches should sit close to the altar and in a seat with easy access.
The rest of the family and friends can sit from the third or fourth row of seats onwards. And, where exactly? Well, the family of the bride should sit to the left of the altar and the family of the groom to the right.
In order to avoid confusion, an excellent option is to put name cards on the first few rows or simply set up a sign or board that says “reserved”.
This is protocol for a religious wedding, but in civil weddings, it is becoming more and more normal that the couples and their guests opt to move away from the protocol, which in this case would mean family and friends sitting wherever they want.
Secondly, the witnesses enter
After the guests, the witnesses are the next people to enter the church. They will enter in pairs and will sit on either side of the altar, if there are pews.
The bride’s witnesses will sit to the left of the altar and those of the groom will sit to the right.
Next, the parents of the bride and groom, that are not matron of honour or the best man, enter
The parents of the bride and groom, who are not matron of honour or best man, enter together, and the seating plan is: the mother of the bride in the first row on the left and the father of the groom in the first row on the right.
Now, the moment for the groom to enter
If the wedding is religious, once all of the guests are properly seated inside the church, and a few minutes before the ceremony, the groom and the maid of honour will enter.
The groom will enter arm in arm with the matron of honour, which is normally his mother (although it can be whoever you choose) and they will walk and sit to the right of the altar, where they will both wait, standing, for the bride to enter.
Next, the turn of the bridal party
If you have chosen to have a bridal party, first the page boys and the flower girls will enter, throwing petals or holding posters to announce the entrance of the bride.
It should be pointed out that, traditionally the bridal party entered behind the bride and best man in order to hold the tail of the dress, nowadays, they almost always enter in front of both.
If, on the other hand, there are no children preceding the arrival of the bride, the bridesmaids can now enter, either alone or alongside the groomsmen. If they enter together, they will enter in pairs to reach the altar, where the bridesmaids will gather on the left forming a row, and the groomsmen on the right symmetrically. Without groomsmen, the bridesmaids can walk in a row.
If you prefer, the protocol here isn’t so strict and allows the bridesmaids to enter after the bride.
The bride, the last to arrive
It is time for the long-awaited entrance of the bride, at the exact moment when everyone present will discover one of the best kept secrets: the marvellous wedding dress.
According to the rules of the wedding protocol for a Catholic wedding, the bride will take the right arm of her father (although again, it can be anyone you choose) and together they will walk together towards the altar. With all the guests on their feet!
Once there, the bride will separate from her father and sit to the left of the groom.
Couples enter together to the altar, why not?
If the wedding is civil, you can enter as you wish, in a traditional way or by moving away from the norm and entering together, surprising everyone present.
This is an idea that is becoming more popular and allows for a first look: when both are prepared for the ceremony, they meet with a photographer in a room closeby, enjoying the intimacy of seeing each other dressed up for the first time.
Once experiencing and enjoying this moment, now feeling a lot more relaxed, the bride and groom can enter the church together.
Position of the bride and groom and parents at the altar
The most common protocol when sitting at the altar during the ceremony follows this plan: father of the bride, bride, groom, mother of the groom. Another option is: mother of the groom, bride, groom and father of the bride. So the women sit on the left and the men on the right.
Another possibility that is popular is leaving the bride and groom alone at the altar, while the father of the bride and the mother of the groom sit in the first row, on the right for the mother and the left for the father.
As you can see, the seating plan for the bride and groom at the church is quite simple!
Bride, groom and guests’ exit from the church
According to the wedding protocol, the exit of the bride and groom can be with the bridal party. In this way, the couple will be the first to leave: the groom holding the right hand of the bride. Next will be a pair formed by the father of the bride and mother of the groom, and then the other two parents of the couple. After this, the witnesses will follow, and finally, page boys, flower girls or bridesmaids, if they have them.
This is an especially emotional moment, but the most common way to do it is by having the family and friends wait outside the church while the bride and groom sign the marriage document.
And when exiting, showers of rice are waiting for you (or whatever alternative you choose to traditional rice)!
We hope that all your doubts regarding the protocol of entering the church have been answered! But if you still have some questions, at Perfect Venue, we would be delighted to help you.
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