When it comes to the wedding day, there are so many important roles and participants in the festivities that it may seem hard to keep track. One particular role of note is that of wedding ushers. Fading are the days when sisters and brothers as well as cousins who had not be chosen to be part of the bridal party given the role of being the ushers at a wedding. Today you need to hire ushers even on traditional wedding occasions making them all more significant.
The responsibilities of an usher
Ushers should be the first smiling face your guests see upon arrival at your wedding reception. Although it helps to have typically close friends or even a few family members of the couple as ushers, these may sometimes be unavailable or even fall short in the number that you may need for the day. The familiar faces will know exactly what’s to be done and who seat where because most of these guests will not be strange faces. Nonetheless, professional ushers come with a bit of experience about what needs to be done, so they can be trusted.
The job of an usher at a wedding is to greet guests, distribute programs (if need be), escort people to their seats and perhaps show people to washrooms should they feel the need to use them.
Some rare cases, they may also help with ceremony preparation, including handling tasks such as arranging chairs although that’s a task of the decorator or testing the sound system, or any of those other essential last-minute tasks that would be of help to the couple on the big day.
Do you need ushers?
While the duties of ushers are important enough to require specific gentlemen and ladies to serve in that role, some couples ask the groomsmen and bridesmaids to perform the duties of the ushers in addition to their roles as part of the bridal party. At very casual or low budget weddings,some couples choose to skip the ushers and allow their guests to find their seats by themselves. If your groomsmen and bridesmaids will be occupied with getting dressed and/or taking photographs before the ceremony, it’s helpful to have some ushers who can direct people to restrooms, assist any handicapped persons, and answer any questions that may be posed.
Ushers are especially helpful if you need to keep divorced guests separate from each other, or anticipate any other seating conflicts. Ultimately, the choice is completely up to you and what you feel is necessary for your wedding day.
How many ushers should you have!
The general rule is one usher for every 50 guests. So I would say that the number of ushers that you should have at your wedding will largely depend on the size of your guests. However, even for small weddings, you should still have at least two ushers so that they can keep each other company. It is also helpful to have at least two ushers at your wedding so that no one is left standing and waiting to be escorted to their seat for too long.
Who you should ask to be an usher
If you’re having a modern wedding there’s no reason to let the boys hog the limelight at the ceremony doors! If you’re having a low budget wedding, then take it as a last resort kind of thing to choose family friends, cousins and other relatives, or other people you are close to who didn’t quite fit within the bridal party to do the ushering job. But bear it in mind that they too deserve to enjoy your wedding just as much as anybody else. Make sure they are people who feel at ease talking to strangers and will be glad to be helpful.
Now that you know why you’re going to need ushers at your wedding, just get in touch with us on 256758-540071 or by email to booking@tristarafricaskimmersafaris.com for beautiful and handsome professional ushers that help you out on you big day so that you and your invited guests can enjoy it to the fullest.
