Assigned seats

Not having assigned tables is usually more expensive because you’ll need about 20% more tables/place settings/centerpieces than guests. If it’s in your budget that’s fine but I wouldn’t say it takes away stress it just puts the stress onto the guests.

We're doing assigned tables, simply because I don't want any of my guests to stress out trying to figure out where to sit. Also, I can't afford to have the extra 20% "what if" seating I would need otherwise. Simpler just to do a chart and assign tables.

I've never encountered this extra 20% thing in my planning. But my venue doesn't charge extra for tables or chairs so I suppose it doesn't effect me either way.
There's maybe 65 people coming to my wedding, 90% know each other already and if not they'll probably be glad to finally meet. I can't justify forced seating. If I had over 100 guests I'd say it's too clumsy to think 100+ people will be able to sort themselves out.

It depends on the size of your party. A smaller one you can probably get away with that and have no problem. But with bigger parties - especially if you have families or groups of people who know each other - it's always best to assign tables. It will ensure that families sit together, you can keep track of who with dietary needs are where (kids, allergies, etc.) and it can help keep people who don't particularly get along from sitting together. Open seating may eliminate one stress, but it could create a separate stress of its own. The example I always use: what happens if you have a family of 6 (parents and 4 fairly young kids) or a group of 6 people who only know each other (like, coworkers or high school friends) that attend your wedding? What happens if they get lost/run into traffic/etc. and are the last ones to arrive at the reception? They show up and there are enough seats for them...but it's 2 here, 1 there, 1 across the room and 2 nowhere near the rest? It would create an undue stress on your guests to convince others to move to seat their family together.

That's just my perspective. And again, if your party is small enough, or is adults only and everyone knows everyone, maybe it's easier to get away with no assignments. But I honestly will always recommend sitting down and taking an hour or so to assign tables. It's so worth it in the end

It stresses me out at events not to have at least an assigned table. I don't know where I'm supposed to go, don't know how big the other parties at the table are, etc. To be perfectly honest, even at our rehearsal dinner I was freaked out because there was no assigned seating - and I was the bride.

Just my perspective though.

Not assigning seats may alleviate stress for *you* before the wedding, but it puts that stress on your guests day of, especially those that don’t necessarily no eachother. An open seating event is a nightmare for me— can me and my husband find seats together? With our friends? If it’s people I kind of know, who are close to many people, then I’m anxious about taking the seats at their table that they may have preferred save for other friends. Or, if our friends’ table filled before we get there , where the heck do we go?! I feel like what may save you some work pushes it on to others. It also typically takes up more time getting everyone seated, and you’ll need some extra chairs/tables/place settings in case people spread out or try to add chairs to a table. For me, there’s too many ways this could go wrong. I don’t entirely follow your plan for kids meals’ and special plates— so those people have randomly preassigned seats at otherwise open tables? If so how will they find them?

We are not doing assigned seating but we also have a more informal atmosphere - we have 60 ppl attending and its outside and a campout wedding to the tables are picnic tables, mostly everyone knows each other - we did kind of do the 20% thing because I have seating for 80 just in case but also we have a food truck and no formal sit down dinner so I didn't need place cards, place settings ext so for the feel of ours it just made more sense because I don't even imagine my group sitting all that much. However, I think it might still be a good idea if youre having a formal sit down dinner because you know who will mesh most with who and like Kelly said it kind of puts pressure on the guests, this way they don't have to overthink it. plus part of the fun is finding out whos at your table!

Assigned seats in my opinion makes everything easy. I'm all for it!

I'm all for assigned seats or at least assigned tables. That's my plan, I like to know my guests have a seat and will not have to worry about finding a table/seat. Then no one in a family is separated.

We are not doing one. We do plan to have a couple tables marked reserved for our parents & grandparents though. I've never been to a wedding with a seating arrangement so it's not really something I want to mess with.

I prefer assigned seating. I think the seating chart sets the tone for the whole wedding, and makes things way easier for guests that don't know anyone else & large groups. If you have a designated marker for children/special diets, I'd just do all of the seats.

I would not recommend no assigned tables. Guests will try to shove more people per table then possible and leave other tables with barely anyone. You should assign guests to tables but then let them pick their actual seat at the table. Even though its more work up front to make the seating chart it will save a lot of chaos and time at the wedding. Also this way your caterer will know exactly what tables need what kind of diet without having to guess. Even though you said you would have special plates for those, some guests might not know that and take that plate by accident and then you would have a whole mix up with diet.

I am not having assigned seats. We are reserving some tables up front for family. Where people sit for ceremony will be their seat for dinner. We are having plated meals with guests receiving both entrees. That way people can sit wherever they choose to be comfortable. We are having a cute sign being made to be displayed at the entrance to our ceremony

I prefer assigned tables. Being at a wedding where you don't know many people and/or only know people involved in the wedding can (in my experience) lead to awkwardly sitting mostly alone.

How are you going to know where to put those designated markers? My venue is up my butt about making sure they know where people with certain diets/allergies will sit. We are assigning all tables, not seats.

We just recently went to a wedding and was invited last minute. We were not on the seating chart because we were invited last minute so it made everything a little confusing. Our wedding is set for us to pay for 80 guest and I was thinking for just reserving 4 tables for the bridal party and family pending the room setup - but removing the confusion of where everyone needs to sit esp last min invited guest.

I've always thought assigned seats as kinda annoying. At my brothers wedding there were assigned seats & we sat with people we literally had never met or heard of before, it was pretty awkward.

Assigned table makes sense. Assigned seating however is a lot more work and people may not adhere to any of it anyway