Wedding Party Table Seating Etiquette
Wedding party seating etiquette is a general guide for how to arrange the seating of guests at a wedding reception. Like most etiquette, there is no formalized system of rules. Instead, tradition, idiom and good manners come together to help the bride, groom and wedding planner decide where to seat guests. Guests include the wedding party, family members closely related to the marrying couple, extended relatives, friends, colleagues, and any one else the couple wish to share in their marriage day.
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Significance
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Wedding seating etiquette is important because of the significance of the occasion. Where guests sit at the reception can imply their importance to the bride and groom: The closer a guest is seated to the bride and groom, the more significant the guests are deemed. Another reason seating arrangement is so important is that it is considerate. The couple or the wedding planner demonstrates that they are taking their guests into account by seating them near people the guests are close to or will enjoy spending time with.
Assigning Seats or Tables
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A survey by YouGov in 2006 showed that 84 percent of reception guests prefer assigned seating. This implies that most guests want to arrive at the wedding reception with a seat saved for them throughout the party. Assigning seats is more difficult for wedding planners than assigning tables. When tables are assigned, the guests themselves decide which seats at a designated table to choose. When seats are assigned, every single guest of the wedding party will have a seat already chosen for them. With wedding guest lists sometimes reaching into the hundreds, this is a lengthy task for any wedding planner already charged with a hundred other duties, such as designing the meal course and table decoration.
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Considerations of Assigned Seating
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Usually a wedding reception involves eating dinner and wedding cake, listening to speeches and toasts by significant people in the bride and grooms life and dancing. Seating etiquette guides the planner to choose a guest seating arrangement in which each guest will be the most comfortable. For example, it's proper to place elderly guests far from the speakers that are near the dance floor, or to place the parents of the groom at the same table as the parents of the bride, since anywhere else can be interpreted as a slight to their position relative to the newlyweds.
Table Size and Spacing
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Table seating etiquette also involves the question of how big the tables should be. Squeezing guests into small tables is distasteful. They'll bump elbows, lean over each other or spill their drinks. According to Perfect Table Plan, a wedding etiquette guide, each guest should have at least 8 square feet of room at a rectangular table or 11 square feet at a circular table. It's also recommended that tables are spaced at least 3 1/2 feet part lengthwise and 2 feet apart from the head of one table to the next.
Informing the Guests
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Table seating etiquette suggests that wedding planners inform the guests when they arrive at the wedding reception where they will sit. This is best done with a chart showing where everyone will sit. This chart should be printed in large, easy-to-read font for everyone to see when they enter the ballroom or other venue of the wedding reception. The tables should be numbered, and a numbered placard should be visible on every table so guests don't have to walk around looking for their table. If the guests have assigned seating, their names should be put on placards in front of their seat.
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References
- Photo Credit head table at wedding image by Paul Retherford from Fotolia.com
