Designs and Ideas for Seating Plans for a Wedding
Designing a seating plan for your wedding is an important task. You want guests to enjoy the event and the people they are sitting with. Sticky family relations or fighting friends can make a wedding unpleasant if they sit with the wrong people. Things will go more smoothly if you have a seating plan in place.
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Floorplan
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Talk with your caterer or reception coordinator to figure out how your tables will be arranged. You need to know ahead of time how many people will fit comfortably at each table and how many tables you'll have to work with. Smaller tables may only fit six people, while larger ones may fit more than 10. Create a floorplan that is to scale of the room where your reception will be held. Don't forget to allocate space for a dance floor, gift table, bar and buffet serving area if your wedding will have these things. Then cut out mini-tables that are scaled the same size as the ones that you'll have at your wedding. Arrange them on the floorplan until they fit nicely and look the way you want them to. Number each table to make it easier to keep track of who is sitting at which table.
Bridal Table
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It's up to you and your groom to decide how you want to seat the bridal party. Some couples have their own private table and seat the bridal party at a separate table, while others prefer one big table for the bridal party. If you decide to seat the bride and groom with the bridal party, you might all sit at long, rectangular table at the front of the room, with the bride and groom in the middle. The maid of honor should sit next to the bride, and the bridesmaids should be on her side of the table, while the best man and groomsmen sit on the groom's side. If members of the bridal party bring dates, you can seat them next to their partners or at tables with the other guests.
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Seating Arrangements
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Decide how you want to seat your guests. The tables closest to the bridal table are consider spots of honor, so save them for close friends and family. The bride's and groom's parents and family are typically seated up front near the wedding party table. You can seat them all at the same table or at separate tables if the families are too big or they are divorced. Parents, grandparents and siblings are usually seated at the family table.
Next, branch out to extended family members and friends. Try to keep friends and coworkers together so they'll have people they know at their table. If you're inviting children, you might seat them with their parents or at a separate children's table. Avoid seating ex-partners and fighting family members together to keep things pleasant. Make sure to use clearly marked table and place cards so guests know where to sit. A maître d' with a seating list can be helpful in escorting guests to their table.
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References
- Photo Credit the head table at the reception of a wedding. image by Matthew Antonino from Fotolia.com
