How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding

  • July 10, 2009
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Your wedding will be one of the most beautiful days of your life – as long as you can keep the peace among the parents, stepparents, and their various significant others.

You Will Need

  • Etiquette rules
  • Your own judgment
  • Etiquette rules
  • Your own judgment
How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding: Consider not inviting new partners

Step 1: Consider not inviting new partners

Feel free to not invite anyone whose presence would put a damper on your big day. That includes a divorced parent you’re not on good terms with, or a parent’s new partner who may cause unbearable friction.

How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding: Create the invitations

Step 2: Create the invitations

If the bride’s divorced parents are paying for the wedding, they should be listed separately on the invitations with the bride’s mother’s name coming first and the father’s name on the line below – no “and” in between. If stepparents are contributing, they may be included, too, with the bride’s mom and her new husband getting the first line.

Sending the invitation from just the bride and groom is perfectly acceptable, too.

How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding: Seat exes according to their relationship

Step 3: Seat exes according to their relationship

For the ceremony, seat divorced parents together in the front row of the bride or groom’s side – if they’re on good terms. If not, moms get the front row with any new significant other, with the dads and any new partner a row or two behind them.

If a divorced parent is feuding with an ex’s new partner, the new partner may be seated out of the immediate-family section, by themselves.

How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding: Organize the receiving line

Step 4: Organize the receiving line

For the receiving line, the bride’s mom and any significant other take the first spot, followed by the groom’s parents with their respective partners, mother first, and then the bride’s dad and any new partner.

How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding: Cut new partners out of the picture

Step 5: Cut new partners out of the picture

Have the photographer take pictures of the bride and groom with their biological parents. Separate pictures may be taken of the bride and groom with their parents and any new partners. If there’s a group picture, have the divorced parents stand on opposite ends with their new partners.

How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding: Omit parental announcements

Step 6: Omit parental announcements

If you have an emcee who is announcing the bridal party, ask them to leave out the parents.

How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding: Seat them at separate tables

Step 7: Seat them at separate tables

Seat the parents with their current partner for the wedding dinner, and put the couples at separate tables.

If you have a single head table where the wedding party is seated, place divorced parents at opposite ends.

How To Handle Your Divorced Parents At Your Wedding: Go with your gut

Step 8: Go with your gut

Adjust these guidelines according to how everyone gets along and what will make you most comfortable.

Jennifer Aniston invited her dad and his 2nd wife to her wedding to Brad Pitt, but she didn’t invite her mother.

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Comments (1)

DCH10

The best advice was the first tidbit: You don't have to invite anyone who will make you feel uncomfortable!

over 2 years ago by DCH10

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