having people stand during the ceremony?

ME!! I'm not renting 180+ chairs!! Cost of that over $300!! And then WHAT IF IT RAINS!!??? Nope! ps - if you haven't figured it out! It's outside wedding. hehe!! I don't have $300 to waste if it rains and plus our wedding is going to be like 15-20mins. We have cut out the reading, unity candle (i think) and take care of the reading during the reception. so - the ceremony is now cut down on time.

You are not alone on least amount of chairs as possible. My FH cousin did this @ her wedding and they said no one complained...

Depends on how long the ceremony is. if it's more then 10 min i'd say you should have chairs for everyone.

less then that it would be nice (what if the woman are wearing a cute new pair of heels that weren't broken in yet?), but I don't think absolutely necessary. but I would let people know ahead of time if your weren't going to have them.

As long as it's a super short ceremony and you make sure you have a few extras on hand and you double-check that you've noted any handicapped/very elderly ppl who would need them, sure.

I really wouldn't go more than 15 min tops without chairs.

I'm reusing mine for the reception, so the price isn't so obnoxious, esp. since I called around and one local rental place rents them for $1 apiece for a whole day. Those folks are my new best friends. I'm guessing you have to use different chairs for your reception?

Yeah our is out doors and the reception is about 200 feet from the ceremony spot so taken the chairs from there and putting them in the reception area would be a horrible pain. its going to be short we arent religious and we arent lighting a candle pretty much just say a few things and then our vows

Where is the wedding? Indoor, outdoor, on the beach? How long is it?

FH and I are attending a wedding on 4th of July weekend in Southwest Florida. They are having a 15 minute beach side ceremony. It's going to be boiling, and guests will be there several minutes before the ceremony starts. So, it's not *just* the ceremony. At least we got the heads up through a mutual friend, I feel sorry for the other people who will show not knowing they have to stand.

If you want the chairs and can afford them, get them. It's a comfort factor, I want my guests to be comfortable so we are getting comfortable chairs.

Didn't even think of that- but Anna makes a good point. think how long the guests will be there before the ceremony even starts..... and what if it started late? okay- now i'm really thinking you should get chairs.

If you're having an outdoor wedding, I would make sure to keep the ceremony short. Hot, cold, wind, rain are bad enough, but even worse when you don't have a seat. We're getting married in a church with pews, so the issue to having to rent chairs isn't a problem for us. You can let people know there won't be chairs, and maybe people will even like to bring their own. Or, as I saw at an outdoor wedding once, the couple had pretty blankets and quilts laid out on the ground for guests to sit on.

I went to an outdoor wedding that didn't have chairs for everyone - just chairs for close family and older folks. But it worked because the rest of us could stand on a hill (and therefore see) under trees (and were therefore shaded from the sun). The ceremony was about 15 minutes, which was okay.

Here's where it got to be a problem: there was a receiving line afterwards. Since we were at the end of the line, it took 45 minutes to get through. So at this point we had been on our feet for over an hour and were getting pretty tetchy.

So, if you must make people stand for the ceremony, keep it short, make sure they have shade and that they can go right to their seats at the reception.

Yeah its money issues and time issues. its a historic museum so we have a half hour to set up after people leave the place