Do you ever stand halfway down the aisle?

I usually crouch at the front of the center aisle, sometimes standing, sometimes moving around a bit, but things are pretty relaxed here.

You need to check with the officiant or clergy at every venue you go to to find out the ground rules. Once you know where you can and cant be then this question can be answered.

For the OP.. may not have been odd at all but not something we would do. If we are allowed to come into the isle during the ceremony, we will move in a bit with a 70-200 and catch the rings going on the hands. Otherwise we stand to the sides or the back rows and shoot into the ceremony.

Churches are starting to get restrictive because too many newbs don't know how to act professional and are very disrespectful to religious ceremonies. Some churches now restrict to certain areas inside the church. That will force people to step up and get 300-400MM lens to get certain shots. We bought a Sigma 120-300 F/2.8 for this very reason at the end of last season.

So, the photographer in question may have been doing things right, may not have, or simply was new and didnt have proper equipment and got as close as they felt they could go to get the shots the clients were expecting.

I've found this thread pretty informative in terms of the norms in different areas. I had no idea how many of you folks were stuck with shooting long at the back during the course of the wedding. I'm shooting at 50mm for a significant portion of my ceremonies.

I stand in the middle of the isle when I need to but I don't stay there. I get my shots and leave...or if I need to be there for a while, I crouch down until I need to get a shot. Even then I am very mindful of the guests.

i work on the perimeter as well. when the important times such as exchange of rings and first kiss comes, i go back to the centre to capture that. the last 2 weddings are a bit special from me, with the minister restricting my movement "close" to the couple. but i am able to move around the perimeter. i have no issue with that. i dont act like a fly or a bee moving around the couple at ceremony - i bet most of us don't.

The middle of the aisle (if the photographer is kneeling) is actually one of the least intrusive places you can be. I usually creep in there towards the end of the ceremony to get the kiss. It's not that big a deal IMHO.