No Seat Ceremony Formation

Our officiant will gather our guests. Since we're in Hawaii, he'll do this by blowing a conch shell to get everyone's attention. We have an "usher" who will have placed two garlands to designate to people where to stand. I'll join the group and we'll get hitched. Wham bam. Back to the party.

Not only I love the idea of standing, but I also LOVE the semi circle. Or full circle, even.

I shot a few (short) ceremonies where guests were standing and their attention was fully on the couple. It was amazing.

I also had a ceremony with all the kids sitting in the front and it gave a really intimate feel to the whole thing. It was also unplanned, which I liked.

Having some chair options for older people is good and gives the space a visual "block"; nobody past the chairs, everybody behind. The petals is a good idea as well.

And here is a good example, my friend Michael got married with guests standing AND in a circle and their wedding was amazing (photos by Scott Chester):

http://wscottchesterblog.com/index.cfm?postID=483

Except it's not 15 minutes. Guests tend to arrive about 30 minutes early. Then they stand for the ceremony. Then you maybe start 10 minutes late. Then the recessional. Then they might have to stand at cocktail hour. So they are standing 1-2 hours, often in uncomfortable shoes. Poor planning and being a month out doesn't excuse rudeness, OP and others should figure out a seat for every butt solution.

If you set up a few chairs in the very front with 'Reserved' signs for the elderly/ill guests, that should work well enough. As far as standing in general goes, I went to an outdoor ceremony earlier this year where the ground ended up being too soft to put out chairs (we had a ridiculous amount of rain that week, but none that day, so they couldn't move it inside). The venue placed a couple of benches on the lawn (which were more stable) for elderly/ill guests and the rest of us stood for the 15 minutes. It was fine and we didn't think any less of the couple. Just give them a heads up so they will wear comfortable shoes.

My grandparents/elderly family members would never sit in those reserved seats. They'd be too embarrassed and be uncomfortable and stand.

I wasn't suggesting putting their names or even that much detail on the seats or anything - just a simple 'Reserved' sign like I see on tables at receptions. The bride can let the people who needed to know about the seats know beforehand. I don't think my family members would be embarrassed by that.

@Stephanie Great point!! I never thought about how long it actually takes. It could easily be much longer. In my mind if you invite someone to a wedding you make sure you provide for them accordingly.

Still wondering where OPs outdoor January wedding is. Hopefully someplace south of Florida since it's COLD out.

It's so interesting how many of the comments on this thread don't actually answer the question. I am fully aware that having no seats is not ideal, but neither is your venue double booking and having to move the entire wedding elsewhere with five weeks notice. I am just trying to make the best of the situation. The plan is that when guests arrive we will have a coffee, hot cocoa, tea, and tiny snack bar for them until it's time for the ceremony so whether I'm running late or not everyone will have access to chairs within our reception area and everyone will Be given about a five minute notice before we're ready to start. Immediately following the ceremony everyone will head inside.

@ Snarky, I haven't posted about the standing situation at my ceremony before because I knew it wouldn't go over well here. I only commented to help give advice to the OP.

Akbonner...nobody was quick to judge. It's more likely that they were quick to remember standing during a wedding ceremony. Being on your feet for 15 minutes if you're walking is no big deal. Being on your feet for 15 minutes while standing still is uncomfortable.

You need chairs or a five minute ceremony. I have never been to a wedding in which there wasn't at least a handful of people who didn't need a chair for the ceremony.

What a terrible idea (to everyone who thinks it is okay to have guests stand during your ceremony). Second what @centerpiece said.

You mention that you would use rose petals to mark off the circle if it was indoors. Why can't you do that on the patio? Also, AJ221 gave the suggestion of providing a few seats for parents, grandparents, and elderly guests and everyone else will naturally stand behind. Wouldn't that work as well?

The reason no one is answering your question because it's wrong to begin with. You need to think what is the best course of action as a host. Why can't you have the ceremony in the reception area? What is your back-up plan? If you're getting married in Fort Worth (per your profile) the average temp that day in January is 40 degrees. I am not sure what people consider "cold" in Texas but I bet this falls under that.

Many of my beach weddings are without chairs. I have the guests line the "aisle" and after the wedding party is in front of me, I ask the guests to gather in a semi-circle behind the couple. My ceremonies are usually 10-15 minutes. The only time there are a few chairs is for parents/grandparents who can't stand that long. Oh, and shorter people do move forward so they can see.

I'm only 5'3" and the taller people always put me in front of them for photos, etc.

From your proceeding comments, am I interpreting correctly that your venue canceled on you and you had to find a location last minute? Sorry, just wanted to make sure I'm interpreting correctly.

If your guests know they are going to be standing, I think that's okay. Sure, it's not ideal but if your venue canceled on you and this was the place you could get with notice, I'm sure everyone will be fine. I also agree that if you're providing some chairs for people who are unable to stand, then everyone will kind of fall into place behind them. 50 people isn't such a large group and I'm on the shorter side at 5'1" and most of the time in situations like this, people take notice and (whether I ask or not) find a location where I can see.

Do you have colors or a theme? You're getting married shortly after New Year's so maybe you could get some Poinsettias and place them at the each end of the semi circle and then have some vines connecting them? This could be the outline of the circle and would point guests on where to stand.

I attended a wedding exactly like this. First was cocktail hour, then the 'short' ceremony, then dinner/dancing. By the end of the ceremony my feet hurt so bad from standing still in heels. Really one of my least favorite weddings ever. Just being candid for those of you planning this. Be mindful that even though people may not be old, their feet can still hurt

I went to a wedding where we had to stand during the ceremony. It was slightly inconvenient trying to maneuver myself so I could actually see, but otherwise the ceremony was short, and I was in Vegas so I probably had a few drinks in me already and I was all good.

That being said, they did have chairs for the VIPs up front, and it sounds like a similar situation to yours. The guests stood up on a balcony and looked down below where the ceremony took place, and the VIPs sat down there too.

Ideally, you'd have a chair for every butt, but it sounds like this is your only option, and you're doing the best you can.

Unless you have a five minute ceremony, you don't have a '15 minute ceremony". Your guests have to gather, stand, and then disperse. That's a lot of time for many people to be standing. Our elopements are all standing only, but everyone knows they are elopements, they expect a five minute ceremony (which it is...5-8 minutes) and they expect to stand.

Yes everyone is a critic, but some of us are also officiants, and as one of those, I can tell you this is a plan you need to rethink if there is any possible way.

It's outside? They will all be standing? And you're even CONSIDERING that you might run late?

That's the first thing you need to address, since adding chairs or cutting guests or ordering 70 degree weather isn't a possibility...

I've done outdoor weddings in 55 degree weather. The guests (judging by their facial expressions and comments) couldn't understand why we weren't inside. They don't listen to a thing and the first 20 minutes of the cocktail hour is taken up with (justified) whining about how cold they were. Beach weddings without chairs make slightly more sense, but even those, for us, have chairs.

So here's what you do.

Don't be late. Be early. Start on time; EXACTLY on time. No matter who is or isn't there.

Make a little circle of polished rocks and deputize two people to let your guests know where to stand.

Have chairs for your parents. They deserve that.

Cut the ceremony to five minutes. That means, literally, 'do you want to get married? Yes? Yes! Repeat these vows. You're married. Kiss. Now everyone go inside."

Get your bridal party pashimas or shawls or parkas, but get them something so they're not frozen. And tell them to wear tights under their dresses. No, I"m not kidding. 40ish degrees feels like standing in a fridge. Oh wait, it's exactly like standing in a fridge; legal temp for a walk in is 42.

If your venue was at fault for double booking this, then make THEM pay for the chairs and the hot chocolate that people will be dipping their hands into. It's only fair.

Once again @Celia nails it!