Tag: seating plans

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Vow Renewal – Follow the Rich and Famous and Renew Yours

Close up of couple holding hands at a vow renewal ceremony. The woman wears an engagement ring.Over the last few years there has been a gradual rise in the number of couples renewing their wedding vows.  It isn’t easy to say exactly why vow renewal ceremonies are becoming more popular, but it may well be linked to the rise in high profile celebrity couples publicly renewing their love for each other.

Only last week Gary Barlow told an audience that he would like to renew his vows with his ‘amazing wife’ Dawn.  If Gary and Dawn do renew their vows then they will follow in the footsteps of other celebrity couples including:

  • David and Victoria Beckham
  • Beyoncé and Jay Z
  • Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso

Photo of an evening wedding meal setting before the guests arrive, with bunting in the trees.

Many couples link a vow renewal ceremony with a milestone wedding anniversary, while some enjoy renewing their vows so much that they celebrate every wedding anniversary with a ceremony.  Whatever a couple’s reason for renewing their vows it’s a lovely way to celebrate their love for each other with family and friends – and a great excuse for a party!

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Seating Plan Ideas for Your Wedding Ceremony

Photo of a wedding ceremony seating plan signCouples often spend many agonising hours painstakingly working out a seating plan for their evening meal but when it comes to the wedding ceremony itself they barely give it a second thought.  I can’t however stress enough how important a seating plan is for the wedding – at least for the main bridal party and close family members.  I have been at a few weddings when the couple have decided to keep the event ‘informal’ and not reserve seats for their nearest and dearest only to find that great auntie Mabel has put herself in the front row ‘for a good view’ and the bridesmaids have either had to stand up for the entire ceremony or sit halfway down the back of the room.  A ceremony can still be relaxed with a seating plan and will run far more smoothly when the bridal party enters the room.  How you ultimately decide to seat your guests is obviously your decision but I have listed below a few tips to think about if you like the idea of a seating plan:

  • Putting actual names on the seats rather than a reserved sign tends to work best and avoids any confusion.
  • Whoever walks the bride down the aisle should ideally be on the first row on the end seat – nearest the aisle.
  • Bridesmaids should ideally have seats reserved in either the first or second rows.  If you have a large number of bridesmaids then they can just be split between a couple of rows.  If the bridesmaids walk down the aisle in the order they are sitting it makes the whole process of them finding their seats a much smoother process.
  • The best man needs to be close to the groom and whenever possible should be seated in the first row.
  • Anyone doing a reading should whenever possible have a seat reserved for them (don’t forget to reserve seats for whoever might be with them ie their partner or children).  The reader should ideally be on the end of the row nearest the aisle to avoid clambering over other guests when they come up to read.
  • Most couples tend to stand during their wedding ceremony but it is always handy to have a couple of chairs tucked to one side in case you decide to sit down during the readings.  Once again names on these seats avoids any confusion as to who they are for.

Finally, traditionally weddings always tended to have the groom’s family on one side and the bride’s on the other.  If you want a more traditional ceremony and have a roughly equal number of guests on both sides then this works well.  If however, you are looking for a more modern approach and possibly one of you has a large number of guests, then it’s quite nice to put up a sign just outside the ceremony room like the one above (image credit).