Head tables with couples

Just balance it out with the same amount of couples on each side.

ETA- my sister had a head table last year. My Fiance sat with my dad and grandparents...

Couples should be seated together regardless of if they are in the BP or not, I'd have all the SOs and BP sit together at the head table and let them sit together. (Or you can seat them as normal guests and do a sweetheart table etc.)

If the couples cannot sit apart for an hour, there an issue. We alternated - put the best man on my side and the MOH on his side and then alternated guy, girl.

We aren't doing a sweet heart table

I was MOH for a friend last year and sat at the top table however they kept an open seat next to my FH so after the toasts I could move and be with him!

For what it's worth per Miss Manners the polite/formal thing to do -- for dinner parties at least -- is to seat couples apart! (I don't plan to do that, just thought it was interesting.)

http://www.uexpress.com/miss-manners/2010/2/23/seat-couples-apart-at-dinner-parties

They are going to be sitting down to eat and thats about all. I dont think it matters. You want them to be up and social.

Most of the weddings I have attended have a head table of just the bp. They literally are only seated like that for eating and for the toasts then everyone gets up and mingles (or dances!) throughout the rest of the party. I think it would be totally fine either way!

I'd say seat them together and try to balance it out with how many couples are on each side.

I have been to several weddings where it has been done both ways. My FH was in a wedding and I was seated in the back corner of the room with not one person I knew. Super awkward. I feel like if you want to make your guests uncomfortable then you can do a BP table without couples. If not I'm all for sweetheart tables! It's your day not your BP's day!

I have strong feelings about this because last hear FH was a groomsman. I went and sat through the ceremony, then they left for pictures. Mind you, I know nobody and I'm wandering around with a drink in my hand desperately looking for someone to talk to. Then they came back and sat at the head table and I sat alone. I ate and left. My bridal party will be taking pics before the ceremony. After the ceremony they will be free to do and sit as they wish with their SOs. I hate head tables.

You should really know your bridal party. If there is an SO who truly doesn't know anybody then I agree, it is very rude to let them fend for themselves.

However, if the BP's SOs are also friends, family, in laws, or in another way closely associated with the bride and groom then they should be able to fend for themselves.

My sisters are my BM. Their boyfriends will not be at the head table, but they will be together because they all get along great together. The groomsmen don't have dates so it would also be super awkward to try and couple up my BM on the opposite side of single GM.

You need to sit couples together. I hated being a bridesmaid and my date had to sit somewhere else and he felt so left out. I felt like a prop and it seemed like she didn't care about my or my dates comfort- which sucked

Apparently there are king's tables nowadays -- never heard of them, think they're a great idea.

(as someone who has been stranded at a wedding)

We're doing a quasi-kings table totally by accident because the venue has an 8 person round table for the wedding party. (Other tables are 2 and 4 tops.) My bridesmen are a couple, so they're easy. We're going to have the BM's gf sit with us and then the other groomsman's DW will either sit with us also, if they're leaving the kids at home, or sit with the kids if not. (Wedding is 10/14/17; we have time to figure that one out.)

I really dislike traditional head tables. I was MOH in a wedding in April with a head table and it sucked. The bride and groom were hardly there since they were doing table visits. The wedding party was separated from their spouses / partners. I was stuck talking to the one bridesmaid who was immediately beside me for the night. Sitting on just one side of a table is not conducive to conversation at all.

I think arguments such as "it's only an hour, they survive" or "my sister had a head table so it's fine" are super lame. These are your closest friends and family members and you should want to treat them well and ensure they have the best time possible. There are so many other options to the standard head table now (such as sweetheart, Kings table) that there is just no excuse to stick with the old-style head table.

Another note - I have never been to a wedding where dinner is only an hour. There are 4-5 courses with speeches in between. Dinner is 2-2.5 hours. Plus the wedding party is spending the entire day away from their SO, so adding dinner onto that makes it a very long time. Far from "only an hour".

I like what @Courtney's friend did for the wedding- keeping an open seat next to their SO's so they can sit with them later. I'm doing a "family" table with FH and my kids, and our WP will be sitting together, with other people they know. I'm definitely in the no head table camp, but if you insist, at least let them sit together later!

So why in the first place would you put an extra chair to the BM can move at the end of dinner, knowing full well that she wants to sit with her partner? It's like saying "I'm going to kick you in the shin, but don't worry I have an ice pack".

I'm a huge advocate of the BP getting to sit with their dates.

Years ago this happened to me...My (ex) husband was in the wedding, I didn't know anyone else at the wedding. He got seated at the head table and I was seated in the back at a table with the photographers. I was miserable, to be honest. Seat your BP with their dates!