In general, siblings who are not part of the wedding party usually sit with their parents and grandparents or right behind them, depending on the space available. If a wedding has designated benches for each member of the couple, the usher should greet the arriving guests and ask them which side they are going to attend the wedding from. Step-siblings can sit in or behind the main family section, or you can let them freely choose their seats. Be sure to leave a program on the seats of guests who are going to walk down the hall, otherwise it will not be delivered to them one.
In most traditional Christian heterosexual weddings, the bride's parents sit in the front row on the left side of the aisle, while the groom's parents occupy the first row on the right. They should have a reserved seat at the front of the ceremony, as should anyone reading during the ceremony. I spent many nights carefully placing the guests in their optimal positions on the seating plan of their wedding reception. Tradition dictates that they should sit behind non-VIP guests, and that they should arrive at their seats in order of closeness to the couple being married. Traditionally, the bride's mother is the last to sit down and her seat marks the start of the ceremony, before the wedding procession begins.
The landscape creates tiered and casual seating that gives an informal touch, and the cushions can also serve as wedding gifts. Avoid placing chairs or benches where the view is not obstructed by architectural pillars, wedding arches, or large scale flower arrangements. In a traditional heterosexual Christian wedding, this occurs after the guests are seated, but before the formal procession. For example, at heterosexual Christian weddings, the bride's family and friends sit on the left, in front of the altar.
While seating for the wedding reception can sometimes seem like a complicated game of Tetris, seating for the wedding ceremony is often simpler. Many couples are ditching the bride-side and groom-side rules in favor of mixed seating.
