NOT Doing A Seating Chart

@Madison - I don't think anyone is getting "pissy". They are just giving you their opinion that you asked for

I went to a wedding of about 200 people once where there were no seat assignments and let me tell you it was a fucking nightmare. Everybody rushes in to get a table and they always get groups of 3-4 getting an 8 seat table and then others are left to the awkwardness of asking to sit with someone's party. Everyone is also like oh I'm sorry this table is taken already. These seats are taken. I really hated it because by the time we got to the reception all the tables were taken and it felt so awkward sitting with people I didn't know because I felt like they didn't wanna share their tables. Always assign seats when you have large weddings. If you had like less than 20 people at your wedding I'd say it's not needed. But more than that yeah it's needed. It's just messy if it's not.

I understand this is the unpopular opinion but I'm not doing a seating chart either. Our wedding is going to be fairly small in a park that has picnic tables lined up in rows. Way too much seating for the number of guests we will have.

Pissy? I'd be pissy if I went to a wedding with 250 people and it was a free for all to find a seat. Most people don't stay in their seats that long anyway. Just make one so everyone knows they have a seat. If they don't want to sit outside after the meal then they don't have to.

Kansas, huh? Out of 2 dozen weddings we've attended the only one that didn't have assigned tables was in Florida. We got stuck at a table with uninvited kids, who were total brats. It was one of the worse hosting (food-wise) weddings I've been to. It was also the first one where we had to stop to get something to eat, after we left. My family agreed the couple didn't give a shit, about guest comfort.

OP, you wrote, "I also refuse to seat certain people outside away from everyone else or towards the back of the room based on what I think. It's selfish and not my place to tell them." Are these seats so bad that assigning people to those tables could seriously be considered "selfish"? You do realize, despite removing yourself from the equation, that you are telling a portion of your guests that they're going to "sit outside and away from everyone else" -- it just remains to be seen who gets those seats by default or because they're too slow (or the fastest in the bunch have started "saving" seats at the tables that are near everyone else). Isn't that reason enough to actually assign seats so that the people who aren't able to get the better seats might actually be seated with people they enjoy and have a better overall experience?

And nobody is being pissy. This is a wedding forum, and you decided to share your plan for open seating at a 250 person wedding. People are trying to tell you what the pitfalls are going to be. While it's true that none of us are emotionally invested in any other member's wedding, all of us do want the couple to have a great wedding experience, and I, like quite a few others, are concerned that some of your guests are not going to appreciate this. You do have a huge crowd, and whether you live in Kansas or Timbuktu is irrelevant. You need some type of control here -- or at least a majority of us think you do. But, it's your wedding.

Lol @FB99 , you're correct. If you are not my grandparents or my parents, you are not special enough to sit at the reserved table for the people who GAVE ME LIFE. Seriously? It's no different than saving the front rows for family at the ceremony.

OP no one is being pissy about this. But this is something that really will impact the quality of your guests evening. I could never imagine having an assigned table for each guest. Not one person at my wedding had an issue with having an assigned table, and they all got to sit at a table with people they knew. They also were guaranteed a seat with their date or family. But it sounds like your mind is made up as other PP have posted. Good luck with it.

Lololol. Oh man. Have fun!!

I'm not having seating charts and I'm having about that many guests. I've never actually been to a wedding WITH seating charts. Especially if you aren't having a sit down dinner I don't think it's necessary.

Nancy Katheryne, what are you hosting on NYE? If it's more of a cocktail/late evening party people will still need somewhere to sit?

Anyway, your point is kind of not relevant due to the absence of a sit down meal.

I'm not a huge fan of this for the same reasons many have said. The only way I could see this working is if you're not doing a real "meal" but just heavy apps and desserts the whole time. Even then though, I'm team seating chart!

We will have a cocktail hour and the food will be in stations and come out after pictures.

My point might not be relevant but someone said something about no seating chart at a buffet reception and then not releasing tables to get food. And yes we're having sit down tables and standing bistro tables.

Let me explain:

This idea is lazy.

And everyone will be miserable trying to find a seat.

You're not providing a dinner or adequate seating for a NYE wedding @NancyKatheryne? Yikes!

NancyKatheryne, you'll need a seat for every guest. What time is your reception?

Just popping in to add that if I were a guest at your wedding, I would be confused by the inside/outside seating without a seating chart. Are the tables outside up for grabs? Or not part of this event, and we should stay inside? But there isn't enough seating for everyone inside.... but that's where everything else is (presumably, idk your event) so is this seating area for the wedding or no?

Contrast that to: here, I'm at Table 7. I found table 7, regardless of whether it's inside or outside I know I'm in the right place.

ETA I'm curious about your horrible experience at a wedding you attended with a seating chart. Are you really saying that being told there was a place saved for you ruined the whole event? Or were there other issues that made the wedding memorable for the wrong reasons?

Did you get stuck at a table with your ex or something?

What is the rain plan for the outside tables?

If it's normal where you are, then why are you asking us?

Plenty of seats for 250 people...so you have like 400 seats?? Nah. Stop being lazy. Stop looking for validation. Make a chart.