Lately, There have been so many bride's posts on social media asking Yes or No to seating charts for their wedding, so here are some tips from a wedding planner to give you some insight.
While seating charts are not mandatory, they can be a great way to eliminate stress on your wedding day.
If you are planning a plated dinner, you must have a seating chart to avoid food auctioning at the tables.
It will be essential to the venue or catering company when it comes to service and food count. In fact, most venues will require you to have a seating chart for those reasons.
You want all your guests to be able to flow thru the reception seamlessly and without confusion on where to go besides straight to the Bar.
Why should you have a seating chart regardless of your reception’s style?
1. Seating charts act as crowed control and are a must to keep your wedding timeline moving along.
2. It is a great way for your planner to greet all your guests and make them feel welcome.
3. It will help you to make sure your tables are properly filled and avoid a singles table.
4. Do not forget the place cards at the tables to allow the staff to know who is eating what: chicken, fish, beef, vegetarian and so on...
It might seem a little stressful to think about starting the process of creating a seating chart, but once you start, it will make sense and you will see the benefits.
A few tips on where to start:
1. If you are doing a sweetheart table assign one or two tables to your Bridal Party depending on the number of participants. Make sure that the table is close to your table and the dance floor unless you decide to go with a head table then you do not need to.
2. Assign one or two tables for parents and family depending on the family size. These tables should also be close to the sweetheart table.
3. Organize the remaining tables by groups: Other family, Office friends, High School friends, College friends, and so on.
4. Skip the single’s table, no need to label them, let those singles find each other.
5. If you have kids attending the wedding, consider having a kid’s table and place some coloring books and a few games to keep them entertained.
6. Any guest in a wheelchair, have them closer to an exit or dance floor, if possible, for mobility.
7. Grandparents or older guests, could be seated a little bit away from the DJ’s speakers.
Ask your venue, catering company or your planner to assist you with a diagram of the room to make this even easier for you.
Make this a date night, order in your favorite foods, pour yourselves a glass of wine, and most importantly have fun!!