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King Hippo and I have very different invitation lists. While my list includes three grandparents, four aunts, two uncles, ten first cousins, plus a large group of friends from various aspects of my life, King Hippo has no living grandparents, one aunt, one uncle, a handful of cousins, and a much smaller circle of friends. Needless to say, there will be no “his side” and “her side” seating at the ceremony. It just wouldn’t work for us since our list is definitely bride-side heavy.
I’ve been to weddings where one side of the guest list was larger than the other, and it’s completely not a big deal. But to me, having ushers escort guests to seats and asking them to sit on one side when they are really guests of the other side just points out the guest list disparity even more, and frankly, I’d just rather avoid that all together. So, I’ve come up with a plan.
No ushers. Signage.
My plan is to have a sign on an easel near the entrance to the ceremony seating area, similar to this one, to let guests know that they should sit wherever they want. I’m not 100% sure on this wording yet, but you get the idea.
Anyone else not having even “sides” at the wedding? How are you handling it? Oh…and let me know if you have any better wording ideas for our sign!
That’s a great idea, Miss Hippo! And for the record, I really like the wording!
How about:
Please feel free to sit on either side.
I think things that start with a negative have a harsher tone….
I really like the idea!
I’m in the same exact situation as you! My family is way bigger than his family.
The sign is a REALLY good idea. We might just let people figure it out for themselves, though.
It’s the opposite for us, my side is much smaller! I hadn’t thought of putting up a sign - I was just going to have the chairs out and let people figure it out for themselves, but a sign might help.
That is a great idea! I hate having to pick a side when I go to a wedding.
Brilliant idea! My side is only half of FI’s, so this is a very smart way to even it out.
Great idea! Our sides are about the same size, but the whole ‘picking sides’ thing is odd to us. Our parents are all going to sit on the same pew, same side…together. We’re hoping this will be a signal that people can sit where they’d like!
We didnt have sides and we didnt have ushers OR signs - people just sat wherever and it was fine! Sides are weird because what if you are friends with both the bride and the groom!? I like your sign though - I think its clever and cute!
We are in the same situation… I like the idea of a sign but I kind of wish it rhymed….. can’t think of how to make that work though 
this is awesome!!! i love it! I think the wording is really cute too!!
I don’t even think you need a side. With no ushers, people will just sit wherever, right?
i didnt have a sign, i did have an usher but he was handing out our programs and fans only. how did we solve this issue… we only had one row of benches. you couldnt pick a side 
Mr. GP’s side was WAAAY bigger than mine, so we didn’t do sides either - I think his friends knew there were far more people in his family, so they went ahead and sat on ‘my’ side. We had the same number of seats as guests, so they figured it once one side filled up to sit on the other side! I think the sign is really cute though
My side is like 3x the size of Mr. G’s so we’re totally not doing sides. I haven’t figured out how we’re going to do it, though.
We didn’t do sides either. Ours was outside though, so we only had enough seats for everyone - so if they didn’t sit wherever, they would have had to stand, lol. So signage wasn’t needed.
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Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TX Age and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance IT Engagement Date: August 8, 2009 Wedding Date: March 2011 Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc Events About Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
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