Insufficient Seating

Um, you need a new venue.

Cut your list so that you do not have more than the available seats invited. A seat for every butt, always. Especially for dinner.

You planned this poorly. Sounds like you need a new venue.

Have you sent out STDs? Cut list. Not having seats for all is unacceptable.

Is it safe to assume you have not yet mailed invitations? Did you send STD's to more people than your venue can accommodate?

You need to cut the guest list or change venues. Period.

Some suggestions/questions:

(1) Have you sent out Save the Dates? If not, you have time to dial back your guest list so that it is in line with what your venue can hold.

(2) Find a new venue that can accommodate your guest list.

(3) Make sure there is a seat for every butt at your wedding.

You must have a seat for every guest. Get a new venue or cut the guest list. Open seating would only make your problem worse because with open seating a random chair here and a random chair there will be left. What couple wants to sit at different tables during dinner. There is no way 40 -50 guests will want to stand while they eat and that's exactly what will happen with open seating. Would you want to stand for several hours? Cause if they don't have a seat for dinner, they won't have a seat for the rest of the night until guests start leaving and if I didn't have a seat for dinner, I'd eat quickly and leave.

Cut your guest list or get a new venue

Sounds like you invited more people than you should have. If you knew your venue only held 120, you should have only invited 120....or less. Find a new venue or do more of the open seating/station layout. I've never seen this done personally but I suppose if you have no other choice then that's that.

This sounds like a nightmare. Please do not over invite, every butt needs a seat. Also, with 100+ guests and no seating chart it will be like the Hunger Games: Wedding Edition. Couples and families might get split up, the elderly and anyone with impaired mobility will be stuck in crappy seats (if they even find one), people will save seats for others without knowing they already found seats elsewhere.

Ouch. I hope you haven't sent invitations yet (would be too early anyway). If you sent STDs you need a new venue. If you have not sent STDs then you need to either cut your guest list or a new venue. You absolutely need to have a seat for every guest, it is also a red flag that the venue has suggested not assigning seats! That means they are willing to host more people than the place can handle and SO much can go wrong with that and their liability. with 120 or more guest count you most likely SHOULD have assigned seats to avoid confusion and issues during reception.

Every butt should have a seat. Cut the guest list if you haven't sent STD or find a new venue that can accommodate your guest list if you already sent STD or don't want to cut the guest list.

Why would you invite more than your venue can seat? As others have said, cut the guest list or find a new venue.

You need to accommodate everyone both at the ceremony and reception. Even with food stations. We are doing food stations but everyone has a seat. What if everyone wants to eat at the same time?

I'm not sure why the venue would say it is ok to not have enough seating. Like others said - cut your list or find another venue.

Your only possibilities are that you find a new venue or invite 120 people.

Yikes. I echo what everyone else said. That's a really sticky situation, and I really hope everything works out for you!

There are places to draw the line too. If you sent out STDs and people are asking for plus ones, you'll have to tell them no...which is REALLY difficult if they're married or in a relationship and you didn't take it into account. That hurts relationships; I would feel a little bothered if someone addressed to just me and not FH to a wedding I don't know many people at. And maybe you addressed only to the parents instead of to the whole family plus kids, by any chance? But if you already addressed to the Jones family and they have 8 kids, that's a 10 person invite vs if you only addressed to Mom and Dad Jones. Unfortunately, if these are already sent, you're stuck with your count.

I hope you've got a chance to cut the list before any of that is even a choice you have to make! It's really rude to rescind a STD. If you can't find or afford a new venue this late, it sounds like it's gonna be a very stressful couple of months for you waiting for declines.

Plus, fire codes and liabilities and such. The venue may literally have to turn away your guests or you can get fined for it big time, I believe. You don't want to be in that situation. Please do what you can to make it safe and comfortable for ALL of your guests and don't bank on 30+ declines. The guests deserve seats and safety, and the venue deserves a group that fits their requirements as well. Good luck!

Also. I would be anxious having a venue that doesn't stick to their max capacity. I can't see them saying that inviting 30 over their max is okay unless you haven't been honest with them about the real guest count. Plus, take into account every vendor as well. That could very well be another 10-20 people in the building. If their maximum is 120 TOTAL, you need to take that into account too.

Our venue has a limit of 99 total. We can only have 85 guests though because of staff and vendors. We sent out 77 and the final count is 50.

Typically, 'station style' parties don't do seating at tables of 10; there is a mix of seating and sizes of tables, which takes up more space. Even with station style food everyone wants to sit down. What they're describing to you might work for a cocktail length party, and opening or a fundraiser, but not for an extended period of time like a wedding.

You need a bigger space or a smaller list; people asking for random plus ones and kids you had not planned on inviting can be cut, but people with SO's get invited with them.

ETA; and yes, vendors count for fire code purposes.

You invited too many people.... why did you do that