For this week’s inquiry blog post I will be discussing seating arrangements! My fiancé and I have sent out our official wedding invites and now it’s stressing me out where everyone is going to sit! We can’t have more than 100 people in our venue, so allowing everyone ample room and proper vision so that they all feel included and can see everything. We are doing round tables, with ten people at a table, and are also wanting to include a sweetheart table. It is so hard to figure out where close family/parents/siblings go, and where best friends/bridal party goes. Also thinking of where to put people who are not bringing a plus one, so many things to consider! I am hoping this blog post provides some answers, and puts some brides at ease!

I have found a website/blog post that shares some tips on how to make this process a lot easier!

https://www.brides.com/story/wedding-reception-seating-chart-etiquette

This blog suggests using websites such as “WeddingWire, AllSeated, and Wedding Mapper make it incredibly easy to design a seating chart online. As an added bonus, these sites have drag ‘n’ drop seating options, which makes it so simple to arrange (and rearrange) to your heart’s content. You can also customize the templates and try out different table options. AllSeated even has an extensive library of dimensions for actual venues; if yours is included, you can select it and the dimensions will auto-populate. In addition to customizing layouts for tables and seats, you can add other space-consuming setups—such as bar locations or additional seating areas—to really get a sense of how the space will flow.” (Brides, 2021).

The Brides website also suggests “When it comes to actually telling your guests where to sit, the goal for wedding table cards or place cards is to find that sweet spot between creativity and ease of use. Tented or envelope cards are the most traditional and can be arranged in a variety of ways depending on the type of tables you’re working with. Table assignment signs and charts can also work well. Arranging guests’ names in alphabetical order (versus grouped by table) means they’ll be able to find their seats faster than if they had to read every table arrangement on the list to figure out where to go.” (Brides, 2021).

I also found this YouTube video to be extremely helpful, Dana has been an amazing wedding planner (and bride herself) so her knowledge on the topic is so important to me! She makes the process seem less stressful by following her step by step plan. As long as I follow the Brides website, and this video from Dana Designs, I should be good to go!

I have found Pinterest to also be helpful for all of these wedding questions I have had. It gives great visual resources to apply to my own seating plan.

I also need to remember that this is our wedding day, and to remember that we should be seating those who are most important to us closest to us! It also makes speeches go smoother when guests aren’t trying to shove through the crowd.

Thanks for following along!

Megan 🙂