Did you do a seating chart for your reception?

View Quoted Comment I totally agree.

We are not doing one. We will be doing a buffet style dinner and less than 75 people. I decided it wasn’t worth the trouble when I talked to some wedding planners and caterers who said that people tend to not listen to seat assignments anyways and sit where they want. So I had this sign made that we will be using for the ceremony and reception.

I am also on the fence about this! We're doing buffet style so it's not as important. I think the pros were that I could ensure everyone in each party would sit together and I've heard you need less seating if you assign seats. However, I'm also leaning towards not doing it because it's a lot of stress and planning that I can skip.

Every wedding I've been to without a seating chart has been a mess when people are entering the reception. People often get split off from their families because there isn't enough room to fit all of them at the same table. If I didn't have an assigned table, I have left early because I usually end up getting stuck sitting with people I don't know very well.

I will have a seating chart because we have a lot of people and kids attending. About 200 people. Its more organized and orderly in my opinion.

I am a big believer in seating charts. This way there is less chaos and everyone is evenly spread out. If there was no seating chart people would start pulling chairs up to tables so you would have one table jammed packed and another with barely anoyone. Seating charts avoid this.

I'll be doing escort cards (or a seating chart TBD) as well as place cards at the tables for where everyone will specifically sit. We have close to 200 people coming, and I want to make sure that everyone gets seated properly. We've had issues at prior family weddings where younger people grab the "good seats" at the table for a better view and then the older people would have to turn around to see the dance floor. So we're DIYing all of this to (hopefully) avoid any drama.

We have limited space therefore we assigned tables. I used the rule that if you don't assign, you'll need 20% more seating and we just don't have enough room for that at our venue.

I absolutely recommend having a seating chart no matter what. The fact of the matter is, even adults don't seat themselves in an efficient manner and unless you have X amount of extra tables on hand even couples aren't going to be able to sit together. It's always such a headache when there isn't one!

I much prefer having an assigned table when attending weddings. It's nice to have a designated spot to put my things and not have to worry about getting a seat with my family. I think it feels like a high school cafeteria when there's no organization, lol. I didn't' want that on my wedding day so i definitely did a seating chart.

View Quoted Comment

I believe the "pick a seat, not a side......" is for the ceremony. Traditionally, you would have the bride's side (friends and family) on the left side of the aisle, and the groom's on the right side. I think it's important to assign tables, so that families can stay together without worrying that there are only 4 seats at a table where they need five (example).

I don't think either option is incorrect.

We are doing place card/escort card - the venue requires it. However, in the northeast it is very common. I have only been to one wedding that didn't have place cards, and that was a very small/family only wedding of about 30 people.

However, I have noticed that this is another regional/know your crowd thing. As some areas in the mid-west and in the south don't use them.