It’s getting close to the big day. You never thought you’d have to choose between so many tiny details, and there’s one more hurdle you have to jump. The thought of going through your whole guest list and assigning every person a table or seat can seem intimidating. We get it. But don't be tempted to throw all caution to the wind, toss a big "Open Seating" sign out, and pray to the wedding Gods that all will work itself out. It never goes well.
Seating arrangements for your wedding will give your guests some direction and allow for a much smoother transition from Cocktail hour to formal dining. We cannot stress enough...We strongly recommend making a seating arrangement plan!
There are endless options to choose from when deciding how to display seating charts.
It all depends on the couple’s unique personalities and what they feel is right for their guests. Most couples choose to have one large seating chart that guests can easily read during cocktail hour. This option saves a bit of time and money since it functions alone, without the second step of escort cards. You can assign guests to certain tables and allow guests to choose their seat and sit next to whoever they want within the table assignment.
We especially love when our couples get creative with their seating chart! All that really matters is that it’s easy for guests to read, but we’ve collected some of our favorite examples below for better inspiration. It’s always so fun to see what our couples come up with!
Have Some Artsy, Eco-Friendly Fun With It!
We’ve seen couples transform old windows, doors, window blinds, and even old chicken wire from their local flea market into incredible seating charts. Let your imagination go wild and find something to repurpose or re-recycle again after your big day. Almost anything can be made to look like wedding decor with a little help from your florist on the day-of. Go a step further and write your guests’ names on leaves! Silver Dollar Eucalyptus leaves have a ton of space, and if you mess one up, there’s planty more since they literally grow on trees.
Why Is This So Important?
In the best-case situation, your guests decide to steal chairs and place settings from one table to another. Not a big deal? Wrong.
Each tabletop, depending on the shape, place-setting design, and table size, has a seating limit so that everyone can sit and eat comfortably. Since that wasn’t made clear, now everyone is knocking elbows and eating off each other's plates.
Plus, what about the now awkwardly empty tables they took the settings and chairs from in the first place? They're sitting there making your reception look like Swiss Cheese! Big empty holes in the crowd will stick out when looking back at group pictures. The dining space will seem patchy and threadbare, like moth-eaten cloth, and your photographer will have to avoid large whole-room shots.
Another sticky situation to consider is how people tend to collect in familiar Cliques. Rarely will your close friends and family members naturally intermingle. You can’t really blame them for choosing instead to socialize with those they are already familiar with. Weddings are supposed to be about connecting and expanding relationships, not just bunching off into small groups like in a cafeteria lunchroom. Seating charts are just a nudge in the right direction!
So we implore you: Please do future-you a favor and plan those seating arrangements!
Your guests will appreciate it, and you'll avoid any awkward seating choices for guests to make, especially if they don't know many people or come alone.
Here are some tips for the planning process:
No Procrastinating: give yourself about three weeks, from the start to the last seat, to map everyone.
Giving yourself this much time on the project will ensure that nobody gets forgotten.
There are bound to be late additions and cancelations. If everything is figured out weeks before the event, it won’t be such a task to add or subtract a seat or two from a table!
We suggest organizing and displaying guest's names alphabetically for easy searching, since organizing people by their table may take longer to find.
This project is all you’ve been thinking about for a hot minute. While it makes more sense on the planning side to display the arrangements where you finally decided to place them, everyone’s first inclination is to look for their names alphabetically. The biggest issue we see with seating charts is that someone skipped over their own name after searching through all the tables. We’ve been wired since we first learned the alphabet to think this way, make it easy on your guests and yourself.
