Is it the worst thing in the world to have guests stand during your ceremony?

I stood at a wedding once and it was one of the tackiest events I have ever been to. Also, a lot of people have back/feet problems you might not know about and other "hidden illnesses". You should provide chairs.

I don't think the fact that they would get tired of standing would be the issue. The issue is that if everyone is standing, half your guests won't be able to see anything. 170 standing people is a lot to battle with to get a view. And people trying to get a view is going to pose issues for your photographer, because guaranteed, someone is going to be in the "aisle".

I would first look into how many chairs they can fit before thinking about the no chairs. I a.m. fine standing in heels but not for too long I one spot without moving around. Also keep in mind the time purple ate wedding for the ceremony to start, the time fir the party to walk in, then the part where you get married then the part of the bridal party going back down the isle. Do that ten minutes turns into 20 or 30. If you go this route make sure your guests know so they can be prepared.

It's not the worst thing, no, but it's up there.

I agree with KM, standing might pose visibility issues all around.

Thanks guys, there are other issues I didn't think of!

I would hate if I was towards the back because I am a short person and would not be able to see anything. This won't end well. I would try to make room in your budget to rent chairs.

Well--it does, of course, completely blast all standard American etiquette rules. In Greek Orthodox churches, there are no seats so that is kind of a different situation.

I don't know if I would personally do such a thing--it would be a tough call. If it is your only option, I would suggest that you a) make sure your guests know ahead of time (heels in grass and all that), b) make sure anyone who physically can't do it has a seat, definitely, and c) keep it as short as possible.

I would have your ceremony go something as follows: officiant announces that you are beginning/music changes, GM and BM all walk in together at once, (parents/grandparents already mingled with the guests, no processional), you walk in quickly, officiant asks you to repeat vows, you exchange rings, you kiss, you recess, the ceremony is over. People stand for five minutes at a time without thinking about it all the time--cocktail hour, dancing, etc. But people don't usually stand and listen/watch something with concentration, so it will seem longer than it is.

The obvious solution is to not have your ceremony in a venue that can't accommodate your guests--but I assume that is not, for some reason, an option?

People stood for my hospital wedding......in the ICU in Dad's room. 10 minutes and done. That being said the room is like a closet. We had about 14 people, spilling out into hallway. We had 1 chair in there if Fg's mom or friends Mom needed it. They even put the bed up against the wall to get us some room. Not having seats for most of the guests is well tacky. My back hurts pretty bad lately and standing for long period of time is NOT comfortable.

Yeah, we booked the venue before I realized that FH has a ton of family. Lots of divorces, so lots of steps and extended family, and "family"... he took forever to get his list finalized. I don't even want the wedding there, but he won't agree to otherwise

Also, many guests will come early for a ceremony, so if they come 20 mins early, then they are standing for longer.

I went to a ceremony in a field in which everyone was standing. I didn't care for it. I couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything, and it has a rushed, unplanned atmosphere. Besides everything else, it had been raining all morning and the ground was saturated (so you can guess what my high heels looked like).

Our guests will be standing during our VERY short (five... maybe seven minute long) ceremony. But we have a much smaller guest list than you. And we are providing seating for the few older guests that can't stand (maybe 4 people tops).

With 170 guests I think you might run into the majority of them losing interest, talking among themselves, etc. during your ceremony.

We went to a beach wedding and had to stand for 10 minutes. At the time, I was pregnant with twins. That was the longest 10 minutes of my life. If you can't provide chairs for everyone, at least try to have some for your older guests and any guests with a physical disability.

Look up 4 weddings where they actually have a episode where like half the guests have to stand and the other half don't. After seeing that I vowed I would never make they guests stand(lol although the bridal party will)

Venues have set numbers to allow based on space and safety codes. They wouldn't let you have 170 if it didn't work logistically.

Get chairs. If you have to ask "is this shitty" the answer is yes.

I have no health problem to prevent me from standing for 10 minutes, but standing still and quietly for the length of any wedding ceremony would just feel very awkward.

It is VERY common in New Zealand. Mine was standing. I've been to many standing ceremonies. Never had a problem or heard complaints. Actually the 2 weddings I've been to that were seated I either couldn't see or couldn't hear! If it is not common where you are from then it might pay to think again though.

It sounds like you may need to consider cutting your guest list if providing chairs for 170 people is out of your budget.

170 is a lot. I've been to two weddings where I've had to stand & the ceremonies were under 15 minutes & I didn't mind. One, the wedding was in the couples condo & there were 25 ppl (grandparents had chairs & there were about 15 chairs). The second, there were chairs but the officiant forgot to tell people to be seated (her first wedding & a friend) so noone made the move to sit - turns out no one in the wedding party noticed. So is it the absolute worst, no. Will there be issues- probably because of the reasons already stated.