Backyard wedding- Assigned Tables Y/n??

That is a LOT of people not to have any organization. If you really feel strongly about not having assigned seats, make sure you provide a lot of extra chairs because people will seat themselves inefficiently. So if you have 130 guests, maybe have 20-25% more seats available at your tables (making that # up) so that groups/families don't get split up. But with that many guests, I would personally recommend a seating chart, it will make things so much less chaotic for your guests.

I’d honestly say just because of the amount of people, you would DEFINITELY want to do assigned seating. Even if people aren’t going to be eating at the same time. Because then what might happen is couples might not have a clean spot to sit down and eat together or People might start putting random stuff down on other tables because it’s technically “no one’s seat” kind of thing.

I would definitely have assigned tables. It will make things so much easier! Also, since you’re having a backyard wedding, I’m assuming you will be renting tables and chairs. If you don’t have assigned seating, then you’re going to have to rent a bunch of extra tables and chairs, because guests won’t be able to magically sit themselves in groups of 8, or whatever number fits at a table.

My best friend did not do assigned seats or tables for her wedding back in 2018. She had so many people with the “sit me with —“, “don’t sit me with —“ that she just said she’d do open seating! I thought it was going to be insane, but it totally worked! She had about 120 guests and provided more seats than needed so people had options. That said, I’m totally opting for assigned tables and seats for my wedding because I’m someone who needs structure and a game plan!

I was recently at a wedding where there was no seating chart. I felt like I had to rush in to make sure we could get a full table since our friend group is 8 people and each table had 8 seats. We got the last open table and others who wanted to sit together ended up having to split up because there was only an open seat here and an open seat there. People would take their seat, then someone would come and take their seat but leave one space between them and the others at the table leaving only single seats left, kind of like an airplane. It was kind of frustrating and annoying.
I too liked the idea when we first showed up that there was no seating chart until I actually experienced it, and am now totally against it unless you have a very very small guest list, or lots of extra tables and chairs, which may make the place look empty once everyone is seated.

It's fine to want a casual reception but assigning tables doesn't automatically make it less casual. I would think about it more as a courtesy to your guests to assign tables (for all of the reasons listed above). It's just good, thoughtful hosting and people will really appreciate it. You can still have your casual food and feel!