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Want to surround yourself with love (and your actual loved ones)? A wedding in the round is a kick-ass way to give all your guests a great view, avoid aisle-walking drama, and totally buck tradition in terms of a big, straight aisle. Let's feast our eyes on some of our favorite weddings in the round to inspire you to round up your guests in a big ceremony hug.
I love Sam and Erin's super festive, balloon-topped circular ceremony setup.
After Kerry and Kevin had a ceremony in the round that seamlessly transitioned from the ceremony right into dinner, the couple led everyone on the dance floor with some electronic dance music.
Jade and Tyler's wedding had an outdoor spiral aisle. Here's how Jade described it with her awesome way to share the walk:
We arranged the chairs in a spiral for the ceremony and got married in the center of all of the people we love. I have a dad, a stepdad, and my pastor has been a very important father figure to me, so each walked me 1/3 of the way through the spiral and passed me to the next one just like they did in the course of my life.
Nathalie and Stephen had their wedding on their own farm and decided on a huge circle of guests in one row. Here's what Nathalie said about it:
The grass was high and the fall colours were vibrant. We smudged with sweet grass and all of our family and friends sat in a circle around us.
Adam and Lynn went a step further with their wedding in the round by setting up stations to move the ceremony along… literally:
… each set of the attendants were stationed a few feet apart to create a circle within the tables of guests. We began at our officiant, who began the ceremony, and then we proceeded to each set of attendants. Each set performed a piece of the ceremony; readings, vows, rings, etc. We completed the circle by ending up back at our officiant who… pronounced us man and wife. Everyone felt very involved, and it made it so personal.
Jenny and Davis' Utah ceremony in the round had a lovely outdoor setting.
Aimee and Jon's garden tea party wedding pulled from the Pagan tradition of ceremony in the round. The drama was enhanced with their graduated hill setting:
The setting for the ceremony was a small grassed amphitheatre within a woodland garden in Suffolk belonging to Lord Blakenham, who was kind enough to give his permission for the use of this gorgeous location. With fifty family and close friends lining the terraces of the hollow above us, we took our places in the centre.
Ally and James opted for a one-row simple setup by the water. Here was how Ally described it:
We had a ring warming, where our guests were asked to pass on good vibes, prayers, and wishes as they warmed them to pass onto us. We purposely avoided women's and men's roles, and instead focused on the balance we created in our relationship.
Sunny and G had one of the sweetest unintentional moments we've seen:
Because the only permitted seating was picnic tables, we ended up with an unintentional ceremony in the round. At the end of the ceremony, we formed a complete circle. Our officiant asked people to either whisper their blessing for us or speak out loud. To my surprise, many very reserved guests spoke. We could also look around the entire circle and see every one of our guests!
Turn your aisle into a spiral
We've seen some weddings in the round before, but Jenni and Shaun's "spiral aisle" is pretty genius.
Jenni and Shaun's spiral aisle is pretty genius. Not only does it make a great photo from above, it would also allow all your guests to totally check out your outfit as you walk in the spiral.
Ruben and Joaquin had so many amazing moments, but it was hard to compete with this awesomely lit and staged ceremony in the round. just look at the way they entered with their wedding party:
Are you doing anything different with your ceremony setup? Tell us about it in the comments!
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About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
Ruben and Joaquin’s ceremony walk made me cry!! So much fun and absolutely beautiful!!
I like the idea of this, but I think I”d feel weird with having my back to some of my guests for the duration of the ceremony.
An interesting idea to try circular seating plan for the wedding ceremony. It makes for some beautiful photos and is great for the couple who don’t want a traditional wedding set up.
I think this is a great idea for a wedding ceremony. Guests seated in the back of traditional set ups don’t feel as involved and this completely eliminates that.
Doing a circle tomorrow for a vow renewal, with two aisles to form a cross…religious ceremony. MOH and best man will approach each other on one aisle, bride/groom approach each other on 2nd aisle.