What is the proper thing to do being announced at the reception, The Groom father has a girlfriend and the mother is dating no one. Would the grooms mother be escorted in by someone else and would the father walk in with his girlfriend. How should this be handled?

Funny you should mention this, as I went through it in October with my son and my ex, and funnily enough their last name is Schmidt. Giggle

Well, I don't know about the relationship with the two ex's, but when our son got married we walked in together at our son's wedding. My husband could not attend, so my ex's girlfriend stayed behind the scenes so to speak as my ex and her are not married.

We were not introduced as Mr & Mrs Schmidt, but as Mr Schmidt and Mrs Seagrave, the groom's parents.

Again, it all depends on the relationship between the divorced people as to how it should be handled.

Yes my son caught me about 20 minutes before and said by the way you are scheduled to walk in with mom. Well I did for him.

But since many ex's don't speak, don't get along, you are only asking for trouble forcing them to do anything together.

I was just married in June and we didn't introduce parents at all! Just the bride and groom... this is interesting; I've never even heard of that being done!

I agree, it's not done around here either. People just walk into the reception and are able to figure out who is who by where they were sitting in the ceremony, or who is seated at the head table, making toasts, etc. If there is a receiving line, then those who wish to may be introduced to the principal players. Most people you would invite to a wedding would know the present marital situation of the step parents/families, and wouldn't expect them to walk in together, dance together, etc.

The bottom line is, it's a happy occasion. Just don't do anything that would make it unhappy for those you are closest to for the benefit of those you aren't as close to who made it onto the guest list. If distant relatives or friends are confused about who is in the family or not, they can discreetly ask another member of the family. Sometimes we tend to throw common sense to the wind in favor of an old custom that has outlived its usefulness. Just forego the escorting, and let everyone relax and enjoy the special event.