How To Organize Your Seating Plan

When it comes time to organize your seating plan, you might be overwhelmed with the idea of keeping everyone happy.

You want to honor loved ones by putting them in a prominent area, the young cousins asked to be seated nearest the bar, your favorite uncle isn't talking to his sister-in-law, and it's all making you feel dizzy. So let’s look at how you can organize your seating plan.

Start by deciding if you want long tables or round tables. Or you might like to mix it up with a long bridal table and round guest tables, for example. You can seat more people using round tables, so the space is a bit limited, keep that in mind. If you have long tables with guests facing each other, they can easily talk to the people next to them and across from them. Round tables can mean it's a little harder to chat, depending on how loud the music is and how big the centerpieces are. Ask your venue how many people can be seated at each table.

Your list can begin with your bridal table. Usually, the bridal party and perhaps your parents will sit with you at the head table. Next, make the children's table if needed. This is usually in a low-traffic area near some of their parents. Never put them near the dance floor or buffet or too near the head table. Put your friends and family into groups like high school friends, workmates and so on. You might put close family members and VIP guests nearest the bridal table on one side and best friends on the other side. Or mix them up so they can all mingle.

Really there is no right or wrong way to organize your seating plan. But there are a lot of combinations you could go with and even your wedding planner can't take care of this task for you.

Remember it's your day, so don't stress too much over what your parents or guests might want or expect. They will all be having a wonderful time and once dinner is over, everyone will be hitting the dance floor.

Don’t print your seating plan until the last possible time in case there are changes to be made. You can get creative with seating plan designs which we will talk about in another post.