Assigned seating??

I went to a wedding once - it was my Godmother's daughter getting married - and I kid you not, she had over 600 people at her wedding, with NO table assignment. It was a zoo. That's an understatement.

Granted, you're having 250. Still - there is going to be so much chaos and too many uneven tables. Families might be split due to not having enough chairs at certain tables. People will be awkwardly standing around not knowing where to sit and with who.

To ease your guests' minds, I recommend a seating chart. I'm having 180 guests and I can't fathom not having a chart!

If you have that many guests, at least do assign tables. It so all guests know where they are sitting and the odd one out, is not left without a seat. Also, it makes for quicker time to get the food service to the tables (if you're doing pleated).

You should at least assign tables. Having 250 guests trying to find seats will be chaos. Plus, you'll need to have extra tables, chairs, linens and centerpieces because people won't be able to evenly fill the tables on their own so extra tables will be necessary.

I would at least assign tables. I assigned tables for my 120 people and I’m glad we did because when writing it down I was surprised how many people we needed to seat together. I have a few groups of 8 people at a table for 10 and if we didn’t assign them to a table I guarantee all the tables would have 3-4 people sitting at them by the time these groups got out there and then they’d have to split up. We went to a wedding last year with 4 people and we knew 1 other person at the wedding. Our table was already incredibly awkward with the people we didn’t know I can’t imagine trying to find a table with 4 open seats and then going through the awkwardness of having to split up because there were only 2-3 seats. I suggest at least doing tables.

It's a terrible idea. At least assign tables, people can choose where to sit at the table. It sucks to be at a wedding not knowing where to sit. The only wedding I've ever been to that didn't have table assignments FH, our son, and I ended up sitting at a picnic table outside while everyone else was inside. We were also sitting with the grooms parents who were too late to get a seat since they were taking pictures after the ceremony. It started raining and the groomsmen had to pull the table under a tent. Please do not do that to your guest, all you're doing is taking the stress off of you and putting it on them.

I would definitely suggest assigning tables. I don't think it would be necessary to assign each seat at that table. We once attended a wedding that didn't assign tables. We ended up getting way too drunk in our hotel room between the church and reception. When we made it to the reception, the only place left for a family was to sit with a few embarrassingly drunk college friends. They didn't look thrilled that we were seated with them and their kids, and I don't blame them for a second. We did refrain from drinking during dinner once we realized how tipsy we all were, but it still wasn't a very comfortable dinner. I think the family left as soon as dinner was over.

We are planning on about 200 guests, and we are not assigning seats, mostly because we don't know who knows who, and who would want to sit with who. We have the two closest tables to ours reserved for family, but the rest is open to anyone. We just felt this would work best for the guests we have coming. So I guess you kind of have to look at who is coming, and if you think it will be chaotic, or not.

We are not doing assigned seats! It's too stressful trying to make a chart and that way everyone can move around and mingle.

I think it depends on your venue. If you don't assign tables, you need extra seating. People will leave seats open so they can sit with their group. If you have the space to do that, go for it.
We're assigning tables because we ended up inviting a lot of people for the venue size. We don't have the space for the extra tables and chairs.

You don’t need it for the ceremony. Sometimes they block off the front row for family but that’s about it.
You 100% need to assign tables for the reception though. No one wants to be without a seat and asking people if they can sit there. It also stinks for anyone who’s anxious or shy in social situations. You also don’t want grandma to end up next to the DJ and your college friends a mile away from the bar.
Just take the hour and assign tables. Get a chart printed at Staples or run some place cards through your printer. It doesn’t take much time at all and it saves so much time and stress in the end.

For 250, I would assign tables.
If you don't, make sure you have plenty of extra seats and tables so families and groups don't have to split up.

Oh my! 250 guests needs a at least assigned tables. I went to a wedding last year that was 300 and it was a disaster finding seats! No one knew where their “friends” or family were so they’d pick one seat and then move once they saw a “better table”. People were tipping chairs against the table to hold their seats which is a hazard! We sat at a table and drank out of the glasses to find out we actually had been assigned a table (NO ONE told us and there was no indication of this) so we had to move dishes around. You should definately have a system in place with that many people.

For the ceremony only immediate family can sit in the first two rows, everything else is fair game. For the reception I’m assigning tables, bridal party + significant others, immediate family + significant others, and all the other tables will be mixed of our two families and friends

Small weddings are fine to not have assigned seating. Personally, I have always hated assigned seating but with a wedding over 150-200 it is almost a necessary to have assigned seating or it will be a mess. I don't know if I would do assigned seating for the ceremony (just make the first few rows for immediate family only) but definitely the reception.

I think that having assigned seating is a good idea. It is stressful to figure out everyone's placement, but at least it won't be chaotic at the reception.

We are for the reception. With 160 people, we do not want anyone to be wandering on where to sit.

For our wedding, we did assigned tables for reception. All weddings I've been to had assigned tables too not assigned seats. For ceremony, guests could sit anywhere...