Making space at your ceremony venue for all ceremony activities is an important part of your wedding planning. If you are having an outdoor ceremony, or an indoor ceremony where the front of the space is not well defined, you’ll want to plan for how much space you’ll need.
You want space at the front of your ceremony venue to gracefully accommodate you, your celebrant, and your wedding party. But you also need to allocate space for your reader to stand. You may also need a table for any ritual props. Don’t forget to save space for anyone else who is participating in the ceremony. This could be children helping with a family ritual, or parents (or others) helping with a handfasting or other ritual. If you are having floral arrangements, arches, or other decor, space will need to be planned for that, too.
As you consider all this, you’ll realize there may be a lot of people and things that need to be in the ceremony space. If you don’t have enough space you increase the chances of people tripping, dresses being crushed, or decor being tipped. And your photos of the ceremony may show cramped wedding parties or awkward positioning.
Make sure you place the chairs for your guests far enough back to provide the space you need. But don’t let them drift so far back that they feel disconnected from what’s happening. This is where a rehearsal can be very helpful. When you get your entire wedding party, you two, and your celebrant up in front, you’ll get a real feel for the space. At that time you can consider placement for your decor, ceremony props and guest chairs. Walking through the ceremony at rehearsal allows you to choose where a reader stands, where to place a ritual table, and how everyone will move in the space. Making space for everything and everyone becomes more real at a rehearsal and will help the actual ceremony run smoothly.