Sitting or standing during Ceremony?

I don't think it's that bad to reserve the third row or second row for your wedding party, and have them sit after walking in. I'd rather do that than stand for 40 minutes.

I would suggest having them sit in the front row and reserve rows 2-4 (or more depending on size) for family. Plus the pastor (or priest or officiant) May prefer the wedding party take part in the sermon which may include sitting up, standing down, ect. They will stand up with you when it comes to say I do and at the beginning.

I’m Hindu and our ceremony is 3+ hours long. We had our priest condense the rituals to 1.5 hours somehow LOL. Some WP stood around nearby our Mandap (altar/canopy), others stayed at the back, some sat. Thinking back, it would’ve been nice if we reserved seats in the front for them!

I think you def should have them sit in the row behind your fam. & they all know the cue to stand and re-join you. Anything past 10 min standing & people get antsy.

I don't think you need to have them sit. They are supposed to be standing with you and supporting you. I was in a wedding that was about that length of time and standing wasn't that bad. The only issue would be if you have an attendant with some health issues then have something for them

I’m catholic and our ceremony is the same length so they traditionally sit during the readings

My ceremony was about an hour and the wedding party stood at the altar the entire time. They also helped with the ring blessing and reverse unity candle ceremony as well as my bouquet, dress and veil. The little ones sat down during the ceremony though.

Are YOU going to stand for the entire 40 minute ceremony? I doubt the officiant will have you do that. 40 minutes is a LONG time to stand, especially since they won't be able to move around. With an 18 person party, you're going to have at least one faint.

I was in a wedding party that large for a Catholic ceremony once and we sat in the second row behind the immediate families. I can't remember all of the logistics - the priest gave the directions during the rehearsal.

I’d lean towards letting them sit. It’s pretty easy to get lightheaded while standing up there, especially if you lock your knees. And depending on their footwear. You could also talk to all of them and ask how they feel, if someone does get fainty easily or has feet issues or other pain or medical issues that would be aggravated by standing that long. Who knows, maybe they’re all super healthy and like standing and theyll all want to stand the whole time.

I was in a Catholic wedding where we stood for the entire 1 hour+ ceremony and, while 40 minutes doesn't sound bad, it feels pretty bad when you're wearing heels on a hard floor and you can't move around. I would reserve the second row for your attendants to sit during part of the service.

I vote let them sit if that's what is traditionally done for your type of ceremony. If your officiant has done that type of ceremony before (which if it is religious I'm guessing they have) I'm sure they know of a proper time to have them stand back up that isn't incredibly awkward. I highly doubt anyone in your "audience" would think that it is too awkward because it isn't like they know anyway. And, I'd rather have an awkward 1 minute of getting them back up in the right place than having someone pass out or something!