Seating Arrangements: Getting Your Event Organised

Seating arrangements are always an important part of a wedding reception. It is a component that holds a dinner party, and normally requires a varying size selection of tables to accommodate different group sizes.

Here are some seating plan ideas you may want to use:

The Importance of Place Cards

Use place cards to help guests determine assigned seating. These are used to avoid confusion when there are more than six people to a table. Place cards designate individual places at formal affairs. Without place cards, there may be a rush for seats deemed ‘better’ and it will take a lot longer to get guests seated.

The Risks of Unassigned Seating

If you’re having a large event at a spacious function venue, you are taking a bigger risk with unassigned seating. Some hosts and event organisers do not make seating arrangements because of the time it takes to arrange. Unassigned seating, however, can make it more difficult to get guests organised and may put a damper on the event.

Assigning Seats

You can choose to put guests next to the people they know or you can split them up so they can make new acquaintances. It is advisable, however, to put guests next to at least one person they know. Guests are more likely to feel more comfortable when they know someone at the table. Be extra careful when mixing age groups. Younger children should be seated with parents, while you can have a separate table for older kids or teenagers.

Grouping Families and Colleagues

Seat families together and put work colleagues in a single table. If some people, however, don’t get along well, try to seat them at different tables. It is best to break the tradition to have a stress free event.

It is also a good idea to show your table or seating plan to a few key guests to make sure that is okay and you don’t miss anything. You can also use free software to help you assign guests to the right seats automatically.