Are ushers necessary?

I feel like they aren't but my caterer ( all inclusive food,decor, linens ) was telling me if I am having over 100 people we really need them. I just said okay but I feel like we won't end up doing that because I want them to pick where they want to sit.

I don't think they are necessary and we didn't have any. All our guests were able to sit without issue. If you wanted to do the more traditional all of the groom's family on one side and all the bride's family on the other, it might be helpful (we just had people sit wherever) or if you had a lot of elderly guests that needed help to their seat, I could see it. If you didn't want a big wedding party, but you wanted to involve additional people in your big day, you could give people the job of usher. You definitely don't need to worry about it though.

I am in the same boat....I don't feel like one is needed but the venue strongly suggests one.

I don't think they're necessary. The only time I can think of them being needed is when you need certain people to sit in certain places or if you want a dedicated person who can help if there are elderly people who need it.

We are having them more for after the ceremony to dismiss the rows for the receiving line. And they will also escort certain people down for the ceremony (grandparents, etc)

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Yeah I have a much larger family than FH so if we split based on bride's side/groom's side it would be sooo uneven lol.

Thanks!

Thanks all!

I've never seen ushers at any wedding I've been to and we won't be having any at ours. I think 85 people can figure out where to sit, lol.

I don't think so. Most people know how to walk. If you want them to sit where ever, just make a sign.

We aren't having ushers. We are telling our immediate family to please sit in the first 2 rows, with reserved signs for our parents. Everyone else can sit wherever.

View Quoted Comment Yeah we were going to put reserved signs on the whole first row for our immediate families but I feel like everyone else can figure it out from there lol

Hey there, Gen!

I don't think ushers are absolutely necessary, but I would designate a couple of people to be charge of helping any elderly or handicapped guests to their seats. At my uncle's wedding, we had the older teenage cousins, who weren't in the wedding party, assisting those who needed it to their seats!

No ushers are not necessary. I am having my stepbrothers do it just to give them a role

Definitely not. If you need to reserve a few seats, I would recommend putting signage on them though —our guests naturally left...a few too many seats open near the front . We really only needed 5 chairs saved but people left the first 3 rows open 😱— so my lesson learned is to be super specific about saved seats. Otherwise, they should be able to seat themselves

It depends on your wedding venue and how many people attending. I think ushers are common in churches, but outside of that, I don’t see a use for them, other then giving people a job in the wedding

Only reason I can see for needing them would be if you didn't just want your guests to sit anywhere. For example, if you have a huge hall, but few guests, you might want to encourage people to sit near the front.

We had a little over 100 people and didn't have / need ushers. Most guests have been to weddings before and can figure out to sit basically anywhere except the first row.

View Quoted Comment Can I see your signs? Or wording? I'm thinking of doing this, too!

My daughter had them at her wedding a couple months ago, and my next daughter is having them as well. Both formal weddings with the ceremony in a Catholic Church. The one in July had over 200 guests and being in a church I think it was helpful. It also adds to the formality of the event.

We didn't have ushers (185 guests attended & the wedding wasn't in a church). They aren't needed, in my opinion.