Divorced Parents: Ceremony Seating

Ask them your parents of they are comfortable with that or put them in the first to seats of the first 2 rows. With mom and dad on the ends. It's your day. As then to please put there differences aside for a few hours.

You can pretty much seat them how you want, but I wouldn't overthink your stepdad having the second seat of the row.

@Dani, I definitely do not consider him my stepdad (he married my mom like a year ago - they have known each other for like 2 I think), so that's mainly the reason why I think that is just 'wasting' a special seat... :/

If you need to reserve seats, maybe just reserve the row(s) necessary for all four of them and siblings etc. Let them seat themselves on the day. It's not something you should stress about, you will have pleanty of other things to worry about.

@OP, I get that. My dad remarried 3 years ago today, and my mom is engaged and I don't consider either of them step-parents. Didn't mean any offense with calling him that. For me, because of their importance to my parents though, I would just not worry about where they sit if that makes sense. They're a pair now, no matter how close I feel to them.

My parents divorced when I was 7. My dad is now on his third wife who he's been with for sometime. She wants desperately to be friends with my mom, but my mom has her own issues and hates them. I made it abundantly clear to my mom when I got engaged that this was clearly a time when she would be in the same room as my father, that I knew it would be difficult for her and that I would not be responsible for her well being. I would be respectful but I would not be the one to carry that burden.

Overall it went fairly well. Not perfect, but okay. As far as ceremony seating went I let them seat themselves - there was no need for me to micromanage where adults sat for my ceremony. Also, I literally didn't notice and definitely don't remember. My step mom asked multiple times and I said sit wherever you would like. They ended up sitting in the second row behind my mom (I only know because my step mom took a lot of pictures). My mom actually even mentioned how she thought that was a little odd.

At the end of the day you are getting married, that is what matters and that is where your focus will be. Be respectful of how your parents may feel - like maybe don't make them sit together at dinner - but don't be responsible for their well being. They know full well that this is a time they will be together and need to be able to prepare however they should to be adults.

If there is enough room they can all sit in the front row, it could look odd to seat spouses away from each other. Tell them to get along for a few hours (don't ask.)

It doesn't matter which seat on the first row in this case. Let them seat themselves somewhere in the first row as they see fit, next to their spouses.

Reserve the first few rows and let them seat themselves.

For my ceremomy my dad and stepmom sat in the first row which was 2 chairs, the second row was for my mom, my aunt and uncle, and then whoever.

Let them seat themselves in the front row. No biological parent should get a 2d row unless they pick it or there are some overarching issues between you and them.

Don't micromanage the seating for this; they'll do what they feel comfortable doing.