Standing at ceremony?????

I'm in a similar boat! My venue supplies 50 chairs, and charges an extra $5 per extra chair, I personally don't want be extra $500 for a 15 minute ceremony, because most people I've talked to have told me they have no issue with standing for a short ceremony. I know the common answer here though is "a seat for every butt", and I've seen many responses in regard to it being rude because of hidden illness's, and although it may not be a long time, it could still be painful for someone to stand that long....

With that being said, as a guest, I've stood for 2 weddings and didn't mind at all, they were both less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

No, it's not OK. It doesn't matter how short you think your ceremony is going to be, there is always a chance that it will start late not to mention guests will arrive early. I don't know where you're getting married but there is a good chance that in July the sand is going to be hot. Renting chairs and paying a company to bring them down to the beach may be inconvenient for you need to find a way to make it work.

You need to provide a seat for every guest. Your ceremony might only be 15 minute but guests will arrive earlier than that - leaving them to stand for close to an hour or more. Also standing in sand in the middle of the summer is not pleasant. So yes - you need to provide a seat for every single guest whether you think they will be fine or not - its the courteous and correct thing to do as the host.

My wedding is in Greece, and it's custom to stand in Greece. It's not a strange thing for me at all. So do whatever you'd like.

One of my friends had a very short ceremony in a public park in the late fall. They had a drum line procession to the ceremony spot so we all met in the parking lot and walked over together behind the bride and groom. I don’t think anyone minded standing for ten minutes but what I did mind was that even though we were very close no one could hear the vows ect.!!! I would suggest considering some amplification so people can focus more on the ceremony and less on the fact that it may be hot... beaches are very loud with the waves and wind. Also just a thought that maybe some strong young folks can carry down a few folding chairs in case there are a few guests with mobility issues, pregnant, ect.

View Quoted Comment Totally my thoughts. Our venue is super strict on times and we have like an hour to set it all up....freaking out about how to even do this alll plus worry about getting the chairs from the beach to the reception then there will be sand all over. But I also don’t want it to be too hot or be rude. I’m sure we will figure something out! Good luck on your decision!!

View Quoted Comment Yes! We need to somehow get a microphone down there!!! I’m still not sure about chairs but we will figure something out since people will arrive early i’m Sure and will want to sit. We may have the option to do the wedding more on a patio but it just won’t be big enough for the huge wedding we now are doing. When we booked this venue, it was going to be small (75 guests or less) and now it’s like 240 people!! Yikes!!
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How close to the parking lot is the ceremony site? Would it be possible for people to wait at their cars then all walk together down to the site just before the ceremony? I've been to outdoor weddings where people stood. My cousin's wedding will be like that later this year. The wedding party stands the whole time so I don't see a problem for the guests to stand as well. I would let people know in advance though. I would also ask ahead of time if anyone physically needs a chair so you can have a few on hand for them.

View Quoted Comment The parking lot isn’t Too far away. And the reception is literally like right next to the beach. We had the same thought and could have some chairs for people. My worry is the sand!!! It will be super hot!! Rental chairs are going to be a huge hassle and expense. It’s a a destination wedding so figuring this all out is starting to be a nightmare!

View Quoted Comment Yeah i'm on this team too. you know your guests, but you should also factor in the possibility of folks who might have accessibility issues, trouble standing, illnesses, etc--err on the side of making sure everyone has a place to sit and shelter from the heat. i've been to weddings where there weren't enough seats to go around and it was uncomfortable for ushers trying to decide who "needed" a seat and who would be asked to stand.

Our Wedding planner provides 20 chairs with our package. Then any extra seats are like 3 dollars a piece. Have you checked your package to see what is included assuming you are using one. You may want to rent some at least to have for those needing them.

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If the sand is going to be super hot...people shouldn't have to stand on it. Women will likely be wearing open-toed sandals; the sides of their feet and toes will be exposed to the hot sand while they're standing in place and shifting their weight back and forth between legs. Even if it's only 15-20 minutes, that's a long time to be uncomfortable.

I know it seems like a hassle to be transporting chairs back and forth, but if your venue is used to doing weddings I would think it's something they're accustomed to managing. They should be equipped to handle a wedding of your size and the logistics of not getting sand all over the reception room...

View Quoted Comment Totally get this, I am trying to figure this all out. But my venue is a public beach house that the YMCA rents out. Limited chairs and limited timeframes. We can rent chairs but the local rental companies are saying $5 a chair, plus delivery. We are maxed out on our budget already, so cannot imagine adding more money and stress. I’ll have to see if there is an alternative besides taking the chairs to the beach and doing it up on the patio.

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I'm sorry but this is something you should have planned for. I got married on the beach and I couldn't imagine asking my guests to stand. Especially when it's a DW. That's when your hosting should be above and beyond (and having chairs isn't above and beyond, its a bare minimum).

I would try and move things around in your budget so you can provide chairs. IMO, they are a necessity.

Nope, not ok at all. You need chairs.

View Quoted Comment Yes we willl have room for everyone. We are inviting 240 & I am sure it will be a lot less that show up. I was just asking and was curious what others have done or thoughts about this. I have seen 3 different weddings at this beach and reception that did standing so was just curious about that. I’m sure if I posted all the non traditional things we are doing on here I would get eaten alive! Lol. I’m all about comfort for my guests but also know my crowd and guest list very well, and so my fiancé even suggested standing so I was just curious what others thoughts were. I can see how strongly most people feel about this subject 😂 I had not thought about the sand being hot until I posted! I’m overwhelmed about this wedding and did not want a big wedding at all. So i’m Thinking things like this out as an after thought. Lol. I appreciate everyone’s responses.

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There is a difference between being non-tradition and poor hosting...

“fairly short” doesn’t sound short enough for this.

It is very difficult for me to stand still for long periods of time so anything longer than 10 minutes and I’ll be itching for y’all to hurry up. I’m quite fit, work a physical job where I’m on my feet ALL the time so any acquaintance would file me away under the “she can definitely stand for 20 minutes” category, but I surely can’t without becoming super uncomfortable.
I went to a standing wedding once — they had a few rows of chairs for the older guests. I was uncomfortable but I didn’t complain to anyone. Also the ceremony was CRAZY short. Like maybe 10 min tops, they literally just walked up, said vows, and left , no frills no nothing. I obviously survived but I didn’t pay any attention to their vows bc I was too busy shifting around and I couldn’t really see them anyway. It was also a relatively small (75-ish) wedding.
Because I know how uncomfortable I am, I decided that even though my ceremony will be short and sweet, it was worth renting a second set of chairs for my beach ceremony, and I haven’t for a second regretting the expense.

id advise reaching out to rental companies for quotes and other ideas. There are a range of chair types out there from cheap to ultra fancy, and rates do vary from company to company, so shopping around is a must. My caterer had nicer white wooden garden chairs for $6.90, but plain samsonite chairs for only $2.10. I wanted a bit of a compromise so I went with another rental vendor, who rents the white wooden chairs for $5 and the samsonite type for $1.65. This company will also do set up and take down for an add on fee per chair, I think it’s spmething like $0.40 a chair, which would be so worth it in the case where there are time constraints. I also priced out benches because I was considering a mix of backed chairs and benches but I decided against it for aesthetics and comfort, but, it would’ve been another way to potentially save a few bucks, depending on the bench.

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Thanks for responding. I appreciate it!! I am sure we will figure out something and use chairs for people, but I was really just asking out of curiosity when I posted this since I had seen photos online at the same venue we are using and it looked really relaxed and different! I don't want to be rude or a bad host by any means, and will not be, nor will it be chaotic and uncomfortable, I was just asking what people thought!!

If you invite me to your destination wedding that I spent $$$ to get to and there are no chairs at a (hot) beach wedding I would be pissed. Rent chairs to avoid and chaos.