Wedding Reception Seating

Organizing a wedding reception seating isn’t always an effortless task, particularly with the many blends of families. On top of that, adding in the confusing mix are the guests bringing their girlfriends or boyfriends that another guest hates, or simply an aunt bringing a new husband that ex’s family despises, and so on and so forth –this can be a difficult challenge to face. But don’t panic! Rather than stressing over your wedding reception seating, with a plan and a tiny bit of diplomacy, you can come up with a perfect solution.

Planning a wedding reception seating will prepare you for the worst things that can happen, like a guest being left with no other seat than beside the person they can’t stand. Having a seating arrangement and assignment for every guest will let them enjoy the wedding continuously, without them needing to fight over a seat or being uncomfortable sitting next to a “talk to the hand” person.

Where To Start

Begin with finding out the number of tables that will be set-up at the reception, as well as the number of chairs for every table. Your wedding caterer can provide you with this information, and make sure to ask them a chart of the table locations for the reception.

From this information, you can create your own wedding reception seating chart, starting with your complete guest list and a draft of who will be seating next to each other in one table. This task will need the help of both sets of parents –they’ll know who among their friends and invited guests should sit together, as well as the “don’t”.

To make it easier, both sets of parents can also make their own drafts of seating arrangement, and later put together with the couple’s. Remember, two heads, or in this case six heads are better than one.

Wedding Reception Seating Plans

It is always good to come up with at least two drafts of wedding reception seating plans. This will let you compare the best option to take for the seating arrangement, as well as help you avoid overlooking certain guests who might be in the wrong place. Thoroughly run over the seating plan together, and check for any “mismatch”.

There are several things that you can do to make your seating plans easier to organize. You may want to start with a worksheet, and placing names next to a corresponding number –this way, you can just put the number on your draft chart and do away with writing the entire name.

Some helpful tips that will help you assign the right seats for your guests include: keeping small children sitting beside their parents; always placing guests on seats with people they’ll be comfortable with; there is always the possibility that you’ll end up putting a number of guests with guests they don’t know –if this happens, its best to sit them with people like them or around similar age.

Seating The “Impossible”

The bridal table and the family table will be a little less daunting to set-up. The challenge lies with the “other” people who will be attending the wedding. This will include couples with kids versus singles, long-time friends and new friends, as well as those people whom you know but don’t know each other.

No matter how impossible it may seem, there will always be something that they’ll have in common, seat them according to this “common” interest or character, the new-found acquaintance they’ll have with other guests will be a nice experience for them.

Wedding reception seating is a challenging task for the most part, but with the right “head” or heads, as well as careful planning and “considering”, you’ll come up with the most ideal seating plan for your guests.