Open Seating

It also depends on if your doing a plated r buffet dinner as well. I think that makes a big difference.

Just make sure if you do it you have more than enough chairs. certain ppl will want to sit together and you can have 12 at one table and only 7 at another

I'm not having a seating chart.

I went to a wedding once without assigned seating and I got stuck at the kids table. It took a long time for everyone to get seated because they were moving chairs to squeeze in with people they knew. I think you should do whatever works for your wedding.

We had over 200 people there and we did not do assigned seating. We reserved ten tables for family and bridal party. People seemed to know how to find an open seat with no problem. We did have some no shows so maybe that's why it was easier for people. I imagine if you are at full capacity it might be a bit more difficult.

I am having a plated dinner and have a few vegetarians so having a seating chart will help the staff know which table to send those dishes to. I didn't think it was much to make the chart using the WW tool. I will be working backwards - I actually have most my guests seated and I don't have the invites out yet... I will be making changes upon the declines .....

BTW I have never been to an open seating wedding

I am doing assigned tables with a table chart.

I felt like with open seating I would need extra seating and tables (and thus centerpieces ) in case people didn't fit themselves to full tables. I would hate for a group or family of three to be split up because the seats left were scattered. Therefore, it seemed more economical to do assigned tables so I knew what groups fit together at what tables and we could get tables to fit the exact number of people we are having.

Not to mention the last reception I attended had open seating, and everyone was confused and there was no clear direction on if people should be looking for the seating chart somewhere or just sitting where they could find a seat.

I am having open seating because we are having more of a social cocktail style wedding reception with food stations and bistro tables, plus a bunch of random seating areas throughout for guests to sit out. Just depends on what the feel of the reception is.

I had 50ish guests and no seating chart or assigned tables. I had two long rows of rectangular tables with 30 seats each. It worked out fine since our wedding was small and mostly family. One of my sisters had 40 guests at round tables and no seating chart. I think she had 48 chairs and it ended up not being a problem. I have been to a wedding with as many as 75 guests that had no seating chart. Once again long rows of tables and no issues. That wedding had a coordinator who dismissed tables to go through the buffet line which eliminated the chaos factor you can get with that many people.

We're doing assigned tables just to avoid possible chaos but not assigned seating for everyone. We have about 86 guests total so we're splitting the tables up by family (including family friends) and friends.

We are having 40 and aren't doing assigned seating. Almost everyone coming knows one another and we felt it would be weird to tell them where to sit. If we had over 50 or 75 though? Heck yes we'd be doing a seating chart.

There were only 35 guests at my wedding and we still needed a seating chart. Unless you have enough space and money to have quite a few extra tables it won't work at all and even then your guests won't be as comfortable. You don't have to assign seats if you don't want to but if you don't at least assign tables things get very disorganized and people get stressed. I've only seen it come close to working once when there were probably 3 times the number of tables that were needed because the venue just always had X number set up and it was way more than the number of guests called for. But even then people walking in froze and you could see them trying to figure out where to go and people were awkwardly trying to find seats as the bridal party had their entrance. Plus we ended up sitting with people we didn't know and it was super strange because they were awful but we couldn't just blame it on the seating chart, it was awkward because we all knew we had chosen to sit there but no one wanted to be the one to get up and leave.

Why is your FMIL in charge of creating a seating chart??

She's not in charge of creating the seating chart. I would do that, but I would need significant help from her and my FH as I have never met 50-75% of the people on the guest list.

We are assigning people to tables, but not escort cards. Thankfully my dad is super into this and I don't have to think about it for awhile!

I have worked for catering companies for years doing weddings and I will NOT do open seating.

There is always someone without a seat (brides usually don't know because caterers accomodate the best we can to avoid issues). I personally have never been able to find seats at open seating myself. Plus, peoples belongs gets moved, shifted, and ultimately lost.

Unless it's a very small head count, I would beg you to assign tables at the least. People are socializing and less direction causes delayed time which leads to less dancing! And everyone wants to keep dancing by the end of the night!

We plan to have open seating because our venue has long picnic style tables!

We're doing a buffet for about 90 and having open seating. Since all but 10-12 guests are family who are definitely used to large gatherings with no seating chart, we don't really expect any chaos, at least until after dinner when people start moving around and chatting and dancing and whatnot.

Please don't do open seating. I went to one friend's wedding who did this and it was an awful experience. No one would give up two seats together at a table for my boyfriend and me, let alone four seats for another couple we wanted to sit with. We initially sat at a long table where there were open seats but then others at the table rudely asked who we were and then told us the table was for family only. The four of us ended up sitting at a picnic table outside (in the sun, over 90 degrees and humid), away from the wedding. We tried moving inside after dinner, but still couldn't find seats. We stood around the bar area and left early. We were already hot and sweaty so didn't feel like dancing. We didn't even get to see my friend, the Bride because no one else came outside. Worst wedding guest experience ever.

I'm getting married this June and assigning tables. However, the venue has a lounge area (couches near the dance floor), large bar with stools and outside decks that will be set up with cocktail tables to encourage guests to move around and mingle more. The seating will be for dinner only. Which is how its worked with most weddings I've attended.

I'm still making up my mind. I've never been to an assigned seating/table wedding before and have never had or seen issues with it. I have 3 weddings to attend this summer and will be making my decision after seeing how those each play out. One of them has a similar sized guest list as ours and is doing open seating. I wouldn't mind assigning tables, but all of my family and friends are scoffing at the idea/mention of being assigned to anything. I guess we'll see!