Ushers: Their Duties In Detail

Planning a wedding is a lot of work. There are a lot of things on the big day that will need to be handled. Each part of a wedding part has a responsibility that attributes to a perfect wedding.

Although some people feel that being chosen for the role of usher is low on the list, the duties of an usher extend further than just seating guests for the ceremony. There is wedding etiquette they should familiarize themselves with for this task. Your ushers should arrive to the ceremony destination at least an hour before your wedding. They should also come fully dressed in their wedding attire. When they arrive the ushers should get themselves familiar with the greeting area. The greeting area is where they will be welcoming wedding guests with a warm and friendly smile.

As an usher you don't just "seat" guests, you escort them. A female guest is to be offered the right arm for escort. If two ladies are being escorted at the same time, the elder of the two should be offered the right arm. If this is too formal for the wedding it is acceptable to just walk the ladies to their seats.

When facing the altar the bride's family and friends are to be seated to the left, and the grooms family and friends to the right. If the church starts to look unbalanced it is ok to seat guests in a way to balance the rows.

An usher should be saving the first three rows of seating for the family members. Once everyone is seated an usher escorts the parents of the groom, followed by escorting the mother of the bride. The bride and groom may have special wishes for how their parents are to be seated. It is important for the usher to be aware and review such wishes before the wedding day.

Once the wedding starts the ushers may join the seated guests if they wish. At least one usher should remain in the greeting area for late arriving guests. It is important to make sure they do not enter during an inappropriate time in the ceremony.

After the ceremony when the wedding party has departed, the ushers should escort the bride and grooms mothers back down the isle. After the parents of the newly weds are out the ushers will then start releasing guests down the center isle row by row. They should start with the front rows and work their way back. Usually the wedding party and their family will be waiting to receive there guests and thank them for coming.