We understand that creating a seating chart for your wedding day may not be one of the more fun and exciting things to do, okay yes, it is probably one of the more boring things on your to-do list… but we are here to help you! We have come up with a couple ways to make the process go a lot smoother, and in the end, make your special day all that more enjoyable!
When the guest list is larger and you are serving a sit down dinner, not only will your catering staff thank you for arranged seating, but your guests will as well! Guests like to know where they are suppose to sit and appreciate that you have taken the time to choose where and who they will be seated with.
Here are a few suggestions on How to Plan and Organize your Wedding Seating Arrangements & Chart. And some suggestions that will make the process go a whole lot easier and will take away some of that unneeded planning stress!
1. Early Planning
Make sure you have your chart made ahead of time—not the night before or morning of! This is not something that you want to leave to the last minute. A couple weeks before the wedding date, try to start organizing the table charts and make sure you have extra help the day of when it is time to place name cards down! It’s a simple task, but boy does it take time, especially if you have 20 some tables!
2. Diagrams Are Essential
Make sure you have a diagram! It can get pretty frustrating and hard trying to plan where everyone is supposed to sit, especially if you can’t picture it. Get a little creative, and starting drawing. After you have drawn out your diagram of the room and where each table will be, print each guests name on a sticky note and start organizing. Other easy ways would be to use a white board or chalkboard—easily erasable!
3. Head Table
Traditionally the head table is rectangular and is placed against a wall in view of all other reception tables. The bride and groom are seated in the middle, with the maid of honor next to the groom, and best man next to the bride. Usually the bridesmaids and groomsmen are then alternated boy/girl. Of course there are many different ways you can set up your head table; you could have all bridesmaids on the brides side, and all groomsmen on the grooms side, or give the bridesmaids and groomsmen their own table and have a sweetheart table for yourselves. Some couples even chose to sit with their parents, so you see there are endless possibilities.
4. Placement of Parents
Both sets of parents usually sit at the same table, with immediate relatives such as grandparents and siblings. For whatever reason, if your parents would rather host their own table with close relatives, this works too! We would recommend speaking to both sets of parents and go from there. We understand that there are other logistics that will determine whom your parents sit with, but as long as they’re happy, you will be happy too!
5. Organization by Relation and Friend Group
Remember, everyone should know someone at his or her table! Many guests look forward to weddings because it is a time to catch up with close friends and loved ones and they may expect to be seated with certain people. Obviously it is easier to categorize your aunts and uncles together, as well as your cousins, but your larger friend group can be a bit trickier. Think of where you have met your guests for starters; was it high school, university, or work? Use that to start grouping everyone and I’m sure things will fall into place!
On the other hand, some people love going to weddings because they love to meet new people! Don’t be afraid to break up some friend groups, but the key is to remember that each guest should know someone and feel comfortable at the dinner table.
6. Possible Tensions
We completely understand that no family is perfect and there may be some relatives that don’t see eye to eye… the key here is to think a head of time of who you are seating with who, and if it’s a smart decision. One way that can solve this problem is to seat whichever guests far away from each other so they will be less likely to bump into each other throughout the course of the night. Remember you can’t control everything, but both parties will surely appreciate this simple act and hopefully ease any tensions that could arise.
