DEAR ABBY:
When a daughter is getting married, how do divorced parents sit, walk down the aisle and conduct themselves? — ALMOST THERE IN NEW YORK
DEAR ALMOST THERE:
First and foremost, the divorced parents should act like adults and bury their hostilities (if there are any) on their daughter’s special day. Tact and diplomacy should be paramount. Depending upon the circumstances, the “person of choice” should accompany the bride down the aisle. If there is a stepfather, some brides ask each gentleman to walk halfway down the aisle with her.
If the parents are cordial, Emily Post says they can share the first row. If they aren’t (and I am shortening this), the mother sits in the front row with her relatives behind her. The father and his relatives are seated behind his ex-wife’s family. (If the bride is estranged from her mother, the father and his family occupy the first rows.)
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Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
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