There are literally thousands of ways to personalize your wedding day. Let’s talk seating arrangements for a second—specifically spiral wedding ceremony seating. If you’re that non-traditional couple, ditch the straight lines! You can still have your assigned seating, but leave the rest of the guests guessing where the best seats will be. Forget about dividing your guests on the bride and groom’s sides… encourage them to sit next to each other and witness the union in close company. Not only will they get to know each other a bit and warm them up for the reception, it can actually help to strengthen your marriage across family lines in the long run.

Planning your wedding… the one you’ve dreamed about since you were little… should be fun! Your wedding day is a huge part of the amazing, lifelong journey you will enjoy as a couple. You should make every effort to make it personal and memorable. Make it unique!

How can this be done? Today, I want to share with you a fun, practical idea for a small, intimate wedding ceremony. Strawberry Pines, in Poteet, Texas, put together this spiral wedding ceremony seating arrangement for a styled shoot we worked on together earlier this year. It’s perfect for smaller weddings where attendance will be limited.

Spiral Wedding Ceremony Seating

The spiral ceremony seating allows the bride and groom to pass by and make eye contact with each and every carefully-selected guest as they make their way to the alter. What better way to put a personal touch on your wedding ceremony?

From Your Perspective: Make sure you only use this setup for smaller weddings. I would estimate that if you’re going to have more than 90 guests, this is not your ideal wedding seating arrangement. If you’re planning on a smaller number of guests, say less than 50, you can use spacers to make your spiral bigger, like Darlene did in the image above. Be sure that your aisle is wide enough so that the recessional can be completed safely without tripping on your guests’ feet. You will also need to decide which way you will face once you reach the “alter.” Since the spiral design is 360°, you can literally face any direction you choose to recite your vows. I would personally recommend making sure your moms and grandmothers have the bird’s-eye view! While you’re busy being all non-traditional, you can also decide what side you’ll stand on. Remember, in this seating arrangement, there is no bride side/groom side. Will you remain true to custom and face your groom from the left or be willy-nilly and do it from the right? It’s your wedding!! It’s your choice!! Have fun.

From the Photographer’s Perspective: This isn’t the easiest setup to shoot, but it can be done. I would advise to make sure you leave enough room for your photographer to navigate in and out of without disrupting your guests too much. Creating a “secret door” access, just a simple gap in the chairs to the left or right of the alter, would be ideal so your photographer can quickly get in and out without having to navigate the entire circle. And, I would also advise to make sure there is ample room on the outside of your spiral that your photographer could safely set up a six- or eight-foot-tall ladder to shoot over the guests’ heads for better and different angles.

Here are some more detail shots of the spiral wedding ceremony seating:

The other vendors who participated in and donated their talents to this amazing styled shoot were:

Models: Recently married Mr. & Mrs. John Jenschke, and part of their actual wedding party!!
Flower Arrangements: Tony, Ambiance Floral and Event Designs
Chairs: Melissa, Party Rentals

The post, Spiral Wedding Ceremony Seating, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.