Ushers have many important roles in wedding ceremonies and are essential to any wedding planning with 20 or more guests attending. Ushers perform at least four essential functions in a wedding ceremony:

Most importantly, as parents and grandparents are VIPs, ushers escort them to their seats. Even if a mother or grandmother is with her husband, she would be escorted by an usher to her seat and her husband follows her. Remember not to use your ushers to escort all female guests to their seats unless you are having a small wedding. Ushering takes time.

When an aisle runner is used, ushers deploy it just before a bride walks down the aisle to accentuate her entrance.

Most important of all, ushers tend to unforeseen problems that come up during a ceremony and which require immediate attention such as someone or something creating noise.

Ushers assist in exiting your guests at the end of the ceremony by directing them to your reception line in an orderly fashion.

Although it is a nice touch, ushers do not need to be in tux for the ceremony. Ushers should be at your rehearsal session to learn about the many duties required of them.

A wedding ceremony is predominately a female event. The entrance of the bride, not the groom, makes the beginning grand. And her appearance in an ornate and fully plumed wedding dress easily eclipses that of her more modestly dressed groom.

The shining of females and the attention given them in a wedding ceremony starts from the very beginning - at the seating of parents and grandparents. The mother of the groom is escorted to her seat by an usher even though her husband is present. The husband is behind the usher and his wife, and is centered between them. This enables good photographs to be taken of all three as they enter. Whether they are parents or grandparents of the bride and groom, the lady is escorted by an usher, and her gentleman follows behind.