Wedding Forum - Ushers?...

Im just curious to know who the ushers of your weddings will be? are they friends? family? how many do you have to have? and can they be any age? My h2b doesnt have the biggest amount of close friends, more family though, his farther passed away over a year ago of swine flu and hes the only boy, so theres no one he really wants as such. His grandad is a a wonderful man, in good health and is very close to us, so i was wondering if it would be normal to have a grandparent as a usher? thanks xx

I think its a wonderful idea that you want to include his Grandad this way :-)

The role of the usher was traditionally given to a family member of the groom but in these modern times ushers have also been members of the brides family or close friends. To every 50 guests there should be an usher.

Leading up to the wedding day
If the groom and the Best man are wearing morning suits it is highly likely that you will be asked to do the same.
Make yourself available for a fitting of your morning suit.
If morning suits are not going to be worn choose an outfit which is smart and appropriate for the occasion, without upstaging the groom.
Follow the requests of the Best man
The Best man may ask you for help in arranging the stag night for the groom.
Attend a wedding dress rehearsal to finalise arrangements on the day.

Day of the wedding
Arrive early, before the groom.
Find out where the toilets facilities are, in case guests ask.
Collect the order of service sheets from the minister, so you can hand them out to guests as they arrive.
Have the buttonholes ready to hand out at the entrance to the church or venue for each of the guests.
Greet all guests as they arrive and direct family and friends of the groom to seats on the right hand side of the aisle and family and friends of the bride to seats on the left hand side.
Ensure all family members are seated close to the front.
Ensure the bride’s mother is escorted to her seat.
Seat any elderly guests and mothers with babies or very young children at the end of each aisle to allow easy access to the entrance.
Tell guests about any restrictions concerning photography and confetti.
Use your discretion when seating guests if there are large differences in numbers so that on both aisles there is a balance.
Consider seating ladies with large hats at the back of the church or venue so they do not restrict other guests view during the ceremony.
Before the bride and her father arrive ushers should take their place at the back of the church or venue.
Direct any late guests to the nearest seat.
After the ceremony ensure all guests have left to go to the reception and have not forgotten any of their property, before leaving yoursel

My brother and his son are our ushers. I have 2 nieces and a nephew and the nieces are my bridesmaids so i needed a role for my nephew, but he'll only be 18 months at the time of the wedding so i wanted him to be able to be with his dad all day, so this seemed like the best option and it also means my brother can be involved in the wedding which i think is nice because my sister is my moh xx

We are having my brother and H2B's brother... we both have big families and they wont know each other so we thought it was easier to have someone from each side of the family then at least between them they know everyone.

we are having H2b's brother and one of hs close friends as ushers, his best friend as best man, we have 2 page boys, my son and my nephew and 4 bridesmaids, well 3 and 1 maid of honour who is my best friend and then the three bridesmaids are a very close friend my sister and my neice. Not even thought about witnesses.... ooops, should we have best man and maid of honour, although perhaps it would be nice to involve somebody else xx

Also have 2 close friends as BMs and having his Best man and one of my BMs as witnesses x x