Though it may seem like a little thing to a bride, the way and manner in which the mothers of the happy couple are seated means the world to the mothers themselves. Think about it, while the mothers may have been involved in the planning and execution of the wedding, ultimately they have no role to play in the actual wedding. Often times, the wedding itself is emotionally harder on the mothers, as it means that the childhood of their son or daughter really has come to and end. It is important, through the performance of tradition, to ensure that you honor your mother and soon-to-be mother-in-law for the roles that they played in both your life and the life of your future spouse.
Both of the families should be among the last people to be seated for the ceremony. The seating of the groom’s mother indicates that everyone should take their seats as the ceremony will shortly begin, while the seating of the bride’s mother indicates that everyone should be quiet as the bride will be advancing down the aisle at any moment.
About five minutes before the time the ceremony will begin, the head usher should offer an arm to the groom’s mother and lead her down the aisle. The rest of the groom’s immediate family (e.g. father, brothers and sisters) should follow behind. The head usher should take the mother of the groom to the front row to the left of the alter (if you are facing the alter). Once she is seated, her husband should take the seat to her left. All other family members should take inside seats on the row.
The parents of the groom are divorced; the step-mother will also need to be seated. The above process is repeated for the step-mother and the step-mother and father are seated to the immediate left of the groom’s mother and step-father.
If the parents of the bride are also divorced, the step-mother of the bride and her children should be seated at this time. The step-mother should be seated four seats in on the front row on the right hand side of the alter.
Once the mother of the groom is seated, the ushers should quietly remind everyone else to take their seats. Once everyone else has taken their seats, the head usher should then offer his arm to the mother of the bride. He will then usher the mother of the bride down the aisle to her seat. The bride’s siblings should follow directly behind the two.
While the mother of the bride is proceeding down the aisle, the prelude music should recede into silence. This will be an auditory cue to the audience that they should now be quiet. The mother of the bride should be seated with a space left on her right for the father to sit down in once he has presented the hand of the bride to the groom.
Once the mother of the bride is seated, the silence will help to bring anticipation for the moment that the processional music has started and the bride and her father comes down the aisle.
If may seem a bit fussy to go through this whole routine, but traditions are important, especially the ones that honor our parents.