It’s your wedding day, and unless you are planning a small wedding, you probably have a number of guests who will be attending your reception. The guest list will include people from both your side of the family and the groom’s. The result is that some people will know each other while others will not. There will be friends and family, singles and couples and perhaps even children. You will want your guests to feel comfortable and have a good time, and one way you can accomplish this is to plan the seating in advance by creating a seating chart for the reception.
The wedding reception is probably the part of the wedding that will have the most interaction, especially between guests, and you will want to make the arrangements as appropriate and comfortable as possible for them. No guest wants to be left guessing where to sit, or to be rejected at a table, or feel awkward in a pool of strangers. Creating a seating chart or plan eliminates this problem and ensures that your guests are given an enjoyable time during the festivities.
The first step in creating a seating chart is to first know who is attending your reception. Don’t start making a plan unless you have received your RSVPs. You want to make sure that you’re leaving no gaps in your planning, and that only the most minimal changes will occur. Once you’ve gotten the list of sure attendees, you can start mapping out your chart.
In making the arrangements, it’s good to first get a floor plan of how the tables at the reception will be arranged. You will want to sit your family and those closest to you at the table(s) toward the front, or near the bridal table, so getting a floor plan cuts out the possibility of you inadvertently assigning them to the back. When it comes to arranging the seats, the bridal table is probably the easiest to design. Of course, the bride and the groom will be seated there, together with the best man and the maid of honor.
Then you can start thinking about which groups of people should be seated together. Be sensitive when it comes to this; there might be guests who only know a few of the others and you will want to sit them with people that they can be comfortable with. While this is a good chance for people to get to know each other, it’s also good to keep acquainted people together. Don’t keep a whole group together though, but have them mingle with everyone else.
You’ll also want to decide if you will have a separate kids’ table; if there are a lot of children in your wedding, a separate one might be advisable. But, if you’ve only got a few, then it might be best to sit them with their parents instead.
Remember that there will always be a few unplanned guests or those who don’t RSVP, so you’ll need to plan accordingly and leave some empty seats for these extra guests. In addition, guests in wheelchairs should be placed at tables that are easily accessible and will need a little extra room beyond the size of a regular chair.
How do you inform people of their seating? Placecards are the traditional way of marking who sits where, keeping people from being confused as to where to go. You can pair these with escort cards, which guests can use to match their names with. A seating chart at the reception entrance might also be a good idea, together with a list of the seating arrangement, to guide your guests.
Remember, planning a seating chart eliminates a lot of problems you might have at the reception. Take a little time to plan and you’re sure to have a smooth sailing wedding celebration.
