Which way to stand during the ceremony?

I like when the bride and groom stand with their sides to the guests and face each other eta: i have always seen the officiant farther from the guests

I've never seen that before.....

And I plan to have my officiant face my guests and I will be facing my future hubby.

I like the officiant to face to crowd and we will be facing each other. Our sides will be to the audience.

MMM... I'm not fond of the idea.. then no one would be able to hear the officiant as he/she is speaking. Plus, you two can stand facing each other, which is what my brother and SIL did--that way everyone could see (part) of their faces the whole time (smiling) and they could hear everything clearly. Looks better in pictures too IMO.

My preference is the same as surfergirl's. I have seen it once or twice with the bride and groom facing the guests, in a Catholic church wedding only.

That's....odd

Our priest will face the guests and our backs will be to the guests or we will be turned to the side..depending on what part of the ceremony we are at.

Our priest faced the audience. We stood facing each other, so our sides were to the audience.

I kinda wish we could have done this. Instead we sat with our backs to everyone and they got to see the priest's ugly mug

Can I ask what setting you are having your ceremony in? For a short ceremony, I don't like the idea... but for a longer ceremony that the B&G usually sit with their backs facing guests, I find it more acceptable.

What happens while the officiant is speaking? They're speaking to everyone, not just the two of you, and I would find that odd if the officiant's back was to me.

@NJBride we're having a short civil ceremony outdoors on a lake.

Our officiant had her back to the guests, and DH and I either faced each other, the officiant, or our guests. I made a point of looking towards certain guests at a few points during the ceremony.

Hmm, then I have to say nah! I just think the officiant should be heard clearly since they are doing a lot of the speaking and although it's completely about you and your FH, you want your guests to hear it and be a part of it. I think you are cutting off your guests by doing that! And truthfully, you shouldn't be facing anyone but each other and that shouldn't change no matter where your officiant stands. No matter what, guests get a sideview in my opinion. I think that's a pretty decent view for them

@Rebecca: When our officiant was addressing everyone then she stepped a bit to the side, so she was facing the guests but wasn't giving her back to us. When she said our prayers, and when we did the vows and the ring exchange, she faced us only.

Honestly, the flip side is, now that I think about it...with our backs to everyone the ceremony became that more intimate, IMO. Once I walked down the aisle ALL I saw was DH, it was like nobody else was there...and honestly, I couldn't tell you if it was 20 or 200 people in the church. NOT being able to see everyone made that time feel as though it were just DH and I....had we had been facing everyone, I don't think I would have felt that same exact way as all I would have to do is glance up and see all those people and know it wasn't just him and I.

Registrar facing the guests, us facing each other - after we've said our vows, the table to sign the register faces the guests so at that point (during those photos, as it's normally done) we'll be facing the guests.

Most common is officiant behind the couple, facing the guests; the couple facing each other. Some officiants will face away from the guests, so that the bride and groom will be facing the guests. But you can discuss this with any potential officiant if it is important to you.

I face the audience and I have the couple face each other. It's the best for me to be heard and you to be seen.

That does seem odd for the officiant to have their back your guests, aka the "audience".

I also think you are thinking too much about this. Just let it flow naturally the day of.

An idea for a compromise if you're not sure - I recently attended a wedding where the officiant was in the standard position, facing the guests, with the couple facing each other.. and then came down the steps of the altar to turn around and face the couple who also turned around, mostly facing each other but angled toward the guests, just for the vows. I thought that worked well, because for the parts where the officiant (priest) was talking he was facing right out at the guests, then once it was time for the couple to speak their vows they turned more so we could see them do it.