Seating Chart - Is it really necessary these days?

I think a table assignment keeps confusion down and people won’t be scrambling for a seat. I don’t think you need to say a what seat they need to sit in unless it’s a plated dinner. That may help the caterer.

The benefits of seating charts are they prevent mass confusion when walking into the reception and it requires you to rent less tables and chairs. Without a seating chart, you risk there being 1-2 seats left empty at each table. In the end, it will save you money.

Yes, I personally think that either a seating chart or assigned tables is a must! I only attended one wedding without assigned seating and the meal was a complete mess as a result. There are plenty of ways to make escort cards very cheaply. Buy a template from Etsy for $10, then go to your local Staples and have it printed out on cardstock. Boom, there you have it -- $20 for all of your place cards.

At first I wasn’t going to do assigned seating but then changed my mind. My fiancé & I have been together (1st time 11 years, apart for 6& got back together for 4 yrs now) for some time. There are still those who don’t know each other. I’m a recovering alcoholic & there are some that don’t know each other but I want them at the same table. We have family, work family & friends that don’t know each other- to keep it easy I’m going to a seating chart for dinner.

View Quoted Comment

Bless your heart! I hope you have an amazing wedding my dear!

It’s a yes in my opinion; but if it’s a causal wedding, then I don’t think it’s necessary!

I'm not sure what you paying for your wedding has to do with seating charts, but having one is a courtesy to guests. It really makes entering the reception and finding a seat go much smoother. It can also help your budget because if you don't have one, you'll need to have extra seats/place settings, and maybe even extra tables (depending your guest count). You can just assign tables, not seats, if that seems easier.

I’m doing a seating chart for a few reasons; so everyone is definitely seated with the people they know, so that the people who don’t know anyone else are seated with likeminded people they’ll get along with, and so forth.

Ultimately it depends on your crowd and the style of wedding but personally I don’t like going to an event without assigned seating - there is an awkward initial phase of trying to find everyone/find seats for all and things can be particularly uncomfortable if there is say a group of 12 but tables of 10.

View Quoted Comment

Because it's an added expense to create it (cards/numbers/displayes etc). We will have RSVP's and know the count of people so table wise we would have enough set up.

View Quoted Comment

The reason you need extra seats with no seating chart is that people don't automatically break themselves into groups of 8 (or whatever size tables you have). So, for example, you might have a family of 5 sit at one table, leaving 3 open seats. And then someone has a party of 9 who want to sit together, so they grab a chair and place setting and bring it to their table. And then you have a family of three wandering around and can't find any 3 seats together.

Not having seating assignments actually ends up much more like an elementary school lunchroom than having a chart/placecards.

View Quoted Comment

Yes this makes sense ty!

Table assignments are super important so families don’t get split up! You don’t want to end up needing to add more tables at the last minute because that family of five with young children has nowhere to sit where they can be together. Not having one can/will create really awkward situations. You don’t need to assign seats unless it’s a plated meal, but you should definitely plan out tables.

View Quoted Comment

Cool. I totally get that this isn't intuitive. It really clicked for me during my years as a catering server. Receptions with seating assignments move much smoother from entrance to dinner (everyone sits down much sooner, too, which means the meal isn't delayed). Those without place cards or a chart were noticeably chaotic at the start.

Please assign seats, or at least tables. It will make it much easier on your guests and you won't need to worry about having extra seating. Plus, no one likes to have to fight to sit with their family. At least assign tables.

WW is really pro seating charts.

Mostly because, as everyone above says - it just prevents a LOT of confusion and breaking up families/couples, and then you don't need to pay for more settings than you need.

You don't have to spend a ton of money on one. DH drew ours up as batting orders (we themed our wedding around our favorite team), and we pinned it to a cork board. Easy peasy, very cheap. It can still be nice and casual, and also make dinner much more relaxing.

We weren't going to do seating charts, but we did a walk through with our day of coordinator today and she said that with covid rules, most venues require seating charts right now, so I'd look into that and see if you have to have it! (If you are getting married this year that is 😂)

You don’t have to do seat assignments (although we did and it’s a pain but helps put like-minded guests next to each other), but at least do table assignments for reasons everyone mentioned.

Assigned tables are a requirement anytime guests will sit down to eat, either plated or buffet/stations. It will be a guaranteed chaotic madhouse without it with couples split and Grandma saving a table for people who don't even sit with her.


The only time you can skip them without chaos is a cake and punch reception. Individual place cards work better for you and guests instead of a big chart.

The large charts are often very difficult to read with tiny print in often illegible fancy fonts. They create traffic jams with people locating their names, if someone is short they may not be able to read the entire chart. Guests often forget their assignment when chatting on the way. When putting them together, you will have to start from scratch if you need to move anyone or make an error.


Individual place cards are easier. Guests find their name, refer to the card when they get distracted on the way to tables. They are also required by catering waitstaff to distinguish which meal choice guests picked. These are easier to update if you need to move tables or make an error.

So for someone that has organized over 500 weddings a seating chart as an absolute must. When you don’t have either a seating diagram for the guest to check or place cards and leave the seating open what you may not realize but what the guest does is that there’s a lot of chaos because people want to sit together and let’s say you set your tables for eight people now all the sudden you have 10 people that wanna sit together and it makes the staff scramble to make the table fit that amount of guests or the other end of the spectrum you have two people sitting at a table and no one knows them and so the rest of the seats get left empty throughout the night. Not having place cards or a seating diagram just create a whole lot of unnecessary chaos.