Help with table assignments

Help! I want to do assigned tables, but guests can pick their own seat within that table. Basically what I was thinking was displaying name cards at a long table with little chalkboard signs (table 1, table 2, etc.) and put the name cards by the corresponding table the guest should sit at, and gusts can go to their table and pick where they want to sit.
My fiancée didn’t like this idea because if a single person puts their stuff down at a table it might disrupt the flow of the table if they have to ask them to move over a seat. (We won’t have that many single people at any given table).

What do you think? What is the best way to display seating arrangements? I don’t like the idea of just leaving name cards on tables and telling people to just walk around and find theirs...

thanks!