Wedding Advice
Dealing with Divorced Parents
This is an issue that's definitely more common than it used to be and has lead many couples to engage in less traditional ways of having a wedding. You can't make everyone happy necessarily, but you can make the best out of the given circumstances.
You and/or your soon-to-be spouse probably already know the balancing act required to maintain a positive relationship with both parents. You may already have a few strategies for handling them and maybe even that requires keeping them in completely separate places at all times. If that's the case, you'll definitely want to remember that when determining the seating arrangements for both the ceremony and the reception. Sometimes it's easier if one of the parents just goes to the other side of the aisle. For example, if the bride's parents are divorced, the father of the bride could sit with the groom's family. This lets us avoid tradition for the sake of having a convenient and simple solution. Also another point to be brought up is if you're not doing the seating arrangements, then be sure to let whoever is know about these issues - especially if they are someone that works at a place where they handle weddings often, they usually have evolved ways in dealing with divorced parents.
Usually you'll want everything to be understood by all the parents involved to know what to expect, and not have any last minute surprises. Whether it's one parent being jealous of an unexpected hot date the other brought, or anything like that, you definitely want to avoid that kind of situation. Especially if there's alcohol at the reception and they have a history with that sort of thing.
If the bride has a father and a step father, there may be a conflict over who is going to give away the bride. If there's an obvious pick between the two, go with it, but only after confirming the other is comfortable with it. Otherwise, the bride can go with one on each arm (if they have no issues with that), or by herself, or a brother, or some other close family member.
You and/or your soon-to-be spouse probably already know the balancing act required to maintain a positive relationship with both parents. You may already have a few strategies for handling them and maybe even that requires keeping them in completely separate places at all times. If that's the case, you'll definitely want to remember that when determining the seating arrangements for both the ceremony and the reception. Sometimes it's easier if one of the parents just goes to the other side of the aisle. For example, if the bride's parents are divorced, the father of the bride could sit with the groom's family. This lets us avoid tradition for the sake of having a convenient and simple solution. Also another point to be brought up is if you're not doing the seating arrangements, then be sure to let whoever is know about these issues - especially if they are someone that works at a place where they handle weddings often, they usually have evolved ways in dealing with divorced parents.
Usually you'll want everything to be understood by all the parents involved to know what to expect, and not have any last minute surprises. Whether it's one parent being jealous of an unexpected hot date the other brought, or anything like that, you definitely want to avoid that kind of situation. Especially if there's alcohol at the reception and they have a history with that sort of thing.
If the bride has a father and a step father, there may be a conflict over who is going to give away the bride. If there's an obvious pick between the two, go with it, but only after confirming the other is comfortable with it. Otherwise, the bride can go with one on each arm (if they have no issues with that), or by herself, or a brother, or some other close family member.