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I can totally see where you are coming from not wanting to spend the extra $$ (it isn't very efficient for just 20-30min ceremony). However, i do think it is common courtesy to provide seats for your guests. Especially for older people it might be hard to stand, but even for younger guests who can handle it physically I wouldn't recommend this.
If you want to save money, you could not get chair covers or maybe not have the ceremony outside. Or maybe you can pay someone to move chairs rather than having family do it?
I don't think it's tacky. As long as it's not an hour long ceremony..go for it! Just let everyone know ahead of time, so they'll wear comfortable shoes.
Forcing guests to stand at a ceremony is not acceptable. What about older people? They can't be standing around like that, regardless of how short the ceremony is. I think you need to rent the extra chairs. You don't need chair covers.
My venue doesn't allow the furniture (including) chairs to be used outside of the building so we have to rent chairs for the ceremony. It wasn't even an option or a thought in my mind to make people stand.
Funny story - we had a shortish outside ceremony, and DID rent chairs. But, my officiant never told my guests to sit down after they rose for me and my dad to enter...so yeah, money went to waste there...sigh. Worse part, I didn't know until watching the wedding video!
I don't think it's tacky, but although your ceremony may be short, your guests will be standing long before the ceremony starts.
I don't think it's 'tacky' either (we all just got "in trouble" for using that word yesterday, LOL!)
I am in the same predicament. What a HASSLE! And way out of the budget to rent more chairs.
What type of feeling does your venue have?
We are doing ours at a refurbished barn, so hay bails with great covers would be appropriate.
Its what we're doing and everyone I've talked to thinks it will be fine! We do have room and the extra chairs available for 3 rows of chairs so we'll reserve row one for parents and sisters and the second two we'll ask that people let the seniors sit first. Our ceremony site is a little different in that its an outdoor plaza with brick planters, steps, trees, benches. At first I was totally unsure about it, but I saw pictures of another bride do it and it made me feel better. We are definitely keeping the ceremony short and sweet so people in the back won't be standing for long. And I have a rain/cold plan set up to move the ceremony into the glass-in pavilion/reception space if I need it. And in fact, it's looking like I will need it because this stupid winter doesn't seem to want to go away. grrr!
I'll attach some pics of the other bride so you can see how it worked.
as a guest, i wouldn't like to stand. not only are you standing during the ceremony, but i always get there early so i'd be standing way before, and if i wasn't warned then i'd probably be wearing not so comfy shoes. and the others are right, you'd want to make sure to have chairs for older guests no matter what.
Okay, let me try again. The first pic of the wedding shows what you can see is the first row of people taking thier seats, and then the guy in the suit whose back you can see, he is in the second or third row.
And the second pic just shows the empty space from farther back looking towards the fountain that we'll be standing in front of.
miller-plaza.jpg (123.8 KB, 127 downloads) 2 years old julies_1.jpg (77.8 KB, 151 downloads) 2 years old 
Thanks for all the responses so far. The venue is a ski hill that looks down towards the river valley. I would completely have chairs for our elderly guests regardless.
@gocubbies - a refurbished barn sounds so great - making use of the haybails is a great idea.
@amac25 - that plaza is beautiful - and so many ledges and benches for sitting before and during the ceremony
I haven't been to the venue during the winter but plan on visiting to see if they have benches or something that the skiers/boarders use to put on their gear and see if those might be availalbe to use on out wedding day. But if they are not wanted to know everyones thoughts on no chairs.
My venue doesn't allow for chairs outside except a few for our older guests.
My FMIL mentioned going to plenty of weddings where evryone stood. We'll keep it short & sweet (15 min max) and open the bar before the ceremony starts so people won't feel their shoes as much.
Personally, I think having a seating area (regardless of what it is) is the best thing to do. I just personally wouldn't want to stand, it seems awkward to me.
Like another poster mentioned I saw people use bails of hay covered with blankets & it was so cute! Also, benches would prob be more affordable & they are awesome!! Or, even blankets and have a picnic style ceremony, this could be done very cute!
Take a look at Mrs. Gummy Bear's set up (I'm in love with this women's wedding!!)...swoon!!!
benches.jpg (91.5 KB, 149 downloads) 2 years old 
We have the exact same problem. I have three ideas.
1) Do a couple rows of chairs for elderly and everyone else stands.
2) Do all chairs and talk to a few guys and groomsmen beforehand to sign them up to move them to our tent (which is about 15 feet away so not so bad, but still 150 chairs!)
3) Make it a picnic style. We'd still have a few rows of chairs in one area for the elderly, but put something on the invitations asking people to bring blankets and they can sit picnic style during the ceremony.
At my sister's wedding it ended up raining and the venue couldn't move all the chairs fast enough. She ended up with a couple rows of people sitting and everyone else gathered around standing. She said she loved how intimate it felt. I love the picnic idea a lot but I'm not sure how to phrase it on the invitation and I'm worried about sight lines with the couple rows of chairs.
Oops here's the photo I was trying to attach!
picnic.jpg (104.1 KB, 111 downloads) 2 years old 
It is not just the elderly that shouldn't stand. I am not elderly, but I broke my ankle several years ago, so I cannot stand for more than 15 minutes at a time. Personally, I would find a way to have chairs for all of the guests. They wouldn't have to be fancy; just something for them to sit on. Also, I think the guests sitting on the ground looks nice; however, it would me very difficult for the elderly and some of the other people to get up and down from the ground. I would not want to put my 96 year old grandmother in that situation.
i am using the same ones from my reception area and im going to have the grooms men move them, it should only take 10 mins tops for them to move 150 chairs , but i guess that depends on how many gm you have.
I have to agree with noritake.
I was at a wedding once, that had some chairs, but not enough for everyone. I was without a chair, and very pregnant. I really couldn't stand that long. I don't think you can reasonably just make an assumption of who needs chairs by thinking of just all the older guests. And what if you have 20 chairs, but 21 guests need a seat?
Another point to consider: what will your guests be wearing? If they will be dressing up at all, it might be harder for women in high heels to stand. And if they have nice clothes, they might not want to sit on the ground. If you have a very casual vibe, the picnic idea could work (with actual chairs for elderly guests).
And you want your guests to come before the ceremony right? So even if you have a super short 15-20 min ceremony, that's at least a half an hour of standing for guests who arrive early. And ceremonies get delayed very often, so who knows how long it will end up being.
My parents have a winery with an outdoor ceremony spot and while my wedding we rented chairs for everyone, another couple who had a wedding there, rented about 10 chairs for their grandparents and those who need to sit and everyone else stood.
@tanya123 - I can't believe people didn't offer you thier seat while pregnant! The only pregnant lady at mine (that I know of) is my step-sister, if the baby isn't here first, and she'll have a seat of honor in the front row.
We had a grave side service for my grandmother last fall that way more people showed up to than we were expected, mostly older people, and we only had seats for less than half of the crowd. The ones that needed to sit let it be known, and the rest made it through the 20+ minute service standing just fine. It helped that the minister said something at the beginning about letting the seniors sit first. We'll probably assign an usher or have the dads on the lookout for rude guys who sit in one of the chairs early.
Okay, so we have the same problem and I really really can't afford the extra chairs, and it's not worth it to me to have them for a 20 minute ceremony. Max. So, we're having an hour long cocktail area in a different area of the venue immediately following the ceremony, and I have several volunteers who will be moving the chairs from the ceremony area to the tent where dinner is. My family and friends are wonderful and want to help in any way they can--we've got about 100 or 110 chairs (not sure how many are coming yet), so if I can get 10 people to each move 10 chairs, it shouldn't be too bad or take too long. And I might have more people than that who are willing to help. I wouldn't be comfortable not providing seating for the ceremony, so this is the best solution we could come up with. Some people may not like it, but I hope they'll be nice and not say anything to me about it on my wedding day. :)
I vote for these options
1 hire a few people to more the chairs... (perhaps some teenage kids, or college kids looking for extra cash)
2. Providing at least some chairs for people who are unable to stand for very long
3.. getting creative with blankets... or I saw alot of cute pics of covered haybales ... for a rustic feel
I vote for the benches!
But if you want to do picnic style with blankets, what about having blankets at your wedding that could also serve as favors? That way you can avoid the awkward "You will be watching the ceremony from the ground, please bring a blanket" and the blankets would serve two purposes!
I understand that it may be difficult budget-wise, but I would cut in another area before I'd decide not to have chairs at the ceremony. Like a PP said, people will be standing for much longer than just your ceremony because they'll have arrived at the venue before the ceremony starts. It's uncomfortable to stand that long, especially in high heels, and if people are thinking about how much they want to sit down or how their feet hurt, they won't be paying attention to your ceremony.
I don't think the comparison to a graveside sevice is that helpful, because everyone knows that there are only a few seats, so they anticipate standing, and the service is shorter than a wedding ceremony (in my experience).
Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. I ended up renting 120 chairs and ended up getting a deal of $1.24 per chair which isn't bad. I won't be using chair covers but knowing that everyone will have a place to sit during the ceremony is good enough for me.
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I need some advice - We are having a short outdoor ceremony at our reception site. The two options we have for having chairs would be to rent an extra 120 chairs or to use the chairs from the tables at the reception. I think it would be so much work moving the chairs back and forth not to mention awkward to have family doing it while the guest enjoy the Champagne celebration after the ceremony (the site won't move them). But I really don't want to have to pay the extra money to rent more chairs and chair covers.
I was at a wedding last summer where they had people standing but no one stood near the bride and groom there was this huge space between the bride and groom and the guest which I found to be very awkward. We were thinking of sort of nicely roping off an area and having ushers assit people to ensure guests come up closer - but I don't know is it tacky to have your guests stand?
I am really struggling with this - thanks for any suggestions