Ceremony aisle decor...

I think it's a good I dea to block the aisles. At weddings every single wedding I've attended, guests, especially the older generation, has a bad tendency of getting into the main aisle as the bride is walking down the aisle to take pictures and ALWAYS gets in the way of the photographer. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a frustrated photographer asking guests to kindly sit down or move away from the main aisle with their phones so they can do their job.

We didn't block ours, but the venue coordinator did mention it as an option. My bridesmaids were afraid that someone might knock over a lantern with a lit candle, but we were scrambling last minute before the ceremony and I decided to risk it.

Side note: I wanted to line the aisles with flower petals, but since they set up the chairs so late, the message got lost somewhere along the chain of people and 2 out of the 3 bags went to waste! I was very disappointed.

I personally have no preference, but we are also having an "unplugged" ceremony. So there will be no real reason for guests to be in the aisle.

We left ours open, but with the "rain backup plan room" being fairly tight it was super clear that stretching into the aisle was a no no lol. We used some tissue poms from Etsy and had them hanging on the end chair of each row on the aisle. Much like the 3rd photo in the initial post.

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I could see that being an issue! I didn't really think about the photographer, I was just raised to think it was rude to walk down the aisle before the bride and bridal party did etc. something like that. I was raised in PA so it's common to block aisles in my hometown.

We blocked off the aisle with burgundy ribbon and it was cut before the moms walked down the aisle. Guests had to walk down the sides instead.

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Flower petals always look so pretty, I'm sorry yours went to waste!

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Yes we plan to hang some greenery on the church pews similar to the picture posted but I wasn't sure if we should block the sides so guests had to walk down the sides of church to find their seats rather than down the aisle before the bridal party.

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That's a good idea as well! Were you married inside or outside?

View Quoted Comment You would think it would be common sense! But sadly it's not where I'm from (NJ). I'm not saying all guests in all NJ weddings do this. But damn people, let the photographer do their job and respect the "Unplugged Ceremony " signs. The couple spent money on it for a reason.

Different Melissa here.

Block, for all of the reasons listed above..The church may already have ropes just for that.

Then you would only need 2 ushers for the side aisles. I recommend ushers as they can urge the guests to fill in the rows towards the front and the seats nearest the middle aisle. I feel that this makes for a much more intimate feel to the ceremony. Otherwise you have guests scattered all over the pews.

You can also decide if you are going to have a bride's side and groom's side --- or not.

View Quoted Comment Outside. You can also see the rose petals lining the aisle.

We had chair posies but because how the chairs were, my bridesmaids just placed them down the aisle by the chair rather than tying them on the chair. Once done, they took them and placed them in pretty little vases at the reception venue for added decor.

We won't block. I'm not using an aisle runner so I don't really care if people use it. I've usually seen ushers walk the guests down the aisle to their seats anyway

I think open is better. I’ve seen ppl arrive late and they just went around or stood in the back. I made diy lanterns to put every two aisles.

I blocked the aisle and used garland to drape over the pews in the church.

We're doing open. We're not having a runner or anything like that, so I dont mind if guests walk in the aisle. We're also gonna have our officiant ask guests to not take photos so hopefully they don't get in the way of the photographer.

We never blocked aisles and guests often came in that way before the ceremony began. What we always did was have the groomsmen pull down/unroll the aisle runner as the ceremony music began & that was the cue that it was beginning. Nobody would walk down it after that. I guess things have changed a bit! I’ll have to think on this.

I've thought about blocking off the aisle somehow but I dont really want any decor in the chapel. I think it's so simple and beautiful as is...