How to Design a Banquet Room Layout
It's relatively easy to create an impressive banquet room layout. Ordinary cafeteria-style dining tables and chairs can be dressed up to provide an elegant feel for any occasion. The placement of tables and chairs will affect how guests perceive the event. Use plenty of white tablecloths and appropriate accessories to enhance the room as well. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 8 to 14 folding dining tables
- Chairs
- Place cards
- Candelabra
- Flowers
- Clear bowls
- Boxes of glitter or sequins
- Chafing dishes
- Guest book and name tag table
- Speaker table or head table
- White sheets or tablecloths
- Ceramic or plastic plates with chargers
- Cloth napkins
- Silverware
Instructions
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Clean all floor surfaces. This sets the stage for a well-dressed room and layout. Place the tables in a perfect square or rectangle. Place chairs facing inward. Guests should all face the center of the square or rectangle. If the room is unusually large, create two areas of tables in rectangular or square arrangments. Avoid lining up tables where guests must sit cafeteria-style. This creates less conversation and ability to view others in the room.
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Arrange dining tables so the speaker or guests of honor stand out. Simply designate one side of the table grouping as the head table. For example, you might seat a bride and groom at a section appointed as the head table. Make their seating area a focal point. Cover their individual chairs with white fabric or wrap chairs with large satin bows. Or, place special flowers on the table near them.
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Create a food line along one wall of the banquet room if there is no wait staff. Help guests obtain their food easily and move on to designated seating areas. Keep the drink area to the extreme left or right of the food serving line. Assign seats using place cards. Everything in the room should stay in balance, so arrange tables properly spaced from all entrances, exits and food-serving areas.
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Keep dining areas away from entertainment areas. Put a live band or musician at one end of the room. Fill space in the center of a table grouping with flowers or art objects. Guests should not view just a bare floor in front of them.
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Arrange tables in a triangular fashion if the room is small. Have guests face inward and place a band or entertainment group at one end of the room. Keep dining and conversation separate from music or dancing later on.
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Tips & Warnings
Think in terms of turning the dining space into a space for intimate conversation and enjoyment of the food first and foremost. Traffic guests smoothly into the room. Have someone verbally direct guests toward the sign-in table where you place a guest book. Make sure everyone knows what to do and where to go. Place candelabra every few feet along tables to give an elegant effect. Place floating candles on the tables in clear bowls and sprinkle glitter along the white tablecloths.
If you have older people at your event, provide wait staff to bring them their food. You don't want any accidents at an elegant event with plates of food.
