Seating chart nightmares lol

We're doing a sweetheart table and seating family/people who know each other together. The wedding party will be split up around the room because of that, but that's what we prefer.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! I just signed up! Looks pretty good I need to see if my venue is on there because if it is I’ll be golden!!

View Quoted Comment OMG there's two of us! 🤣

Oh, Maria, I hope your venue is on there. That made ours so much easier; it even shows where pillars are, steps and such, so you just plug in the tables, and don't have to try to measure the whole room, etc.. (There is a measuring thing on the All Seated site, so you can make sure you have enough room between tables.)

We see no reason to assign specific Seats, since ours is buffet. I can see doing that for a more formal, plated dinner.

We plan to make one chart to display near the entrance, so people can figure out their table number from that. No cards or anything to fuss with. Lots of ideas on Pinterest; leaning toward doing one on a framed mirror or glass. Will just do a paper chart if we run out of time/energy/money/interest.

We are doing a head table but we've chosen to have just 1 person an each side - my sister and his best friend. We will include their spouses too so they are sitting together

I'm having a sweetheart table. I'm not ready to make the seating chart official obviously. But I've been advised to start playing around with hypothetical seating regarding who we absolutely know is coming. I had to ask my decorator how many people can go at each table. She said no more than 10 at round tables and no more than 12 at rectangular tables. I'm not mixing family on purpose but there will be a mix because some family groups are just too small to have their own table. But I'm not playing matchmaker on purpose. People prefer to sit with the people they know.

I've been playing around with my seating chart. What I've been doing is naming tables by "group" - Brides Immediate Family, Groom's Extended Family, Bride's Coworkers, Groom's Friends, etc. and then placing people based on those categories. Many groupings have multiple tables - for instance, we both have 3 tables for friends (assuming everyone RSVPs yes). I just randomly place people at tables belonging to their category and then start moving them around based on who they know the best. I have been using the WW seating chart and it's worked really well for me and didn't take much time.

H and I did a sweetheart table and I would highly recommend it. We then reserved 3 tables up front (one for bridal party and +1s, 2 for parents and grandparents) (aside- all of our siblings were in the bridal party). And we left the rest up in the air. We had so many people that never knew each other before that were so engaged and fun that I'm glad we didn't try to force a big seating chart.

I feel your pain. Our RSVP deadline came and we started the seating arrangements. After a few days my FH suggested we have open seating and avoid the stress. Since our wedding will only have about 80 guests it should be fine. We figured it would create a more relaxed atmosphere.

Thank you ladies for all of your advice and help! I sat down and did my seating charts with a friend and I feel so much better! I sat friends with friends and family with family and it works out perfectly! And if some can't go I have got it covered One stress out of the way LOL....

Our wedding was on Sunday and I’m happy I listened to my husband and didn’t do a seating chart. It was a small wedding 90 guests. We reserved 2 tables, one for the bride’s family and one for the groom’s family. All other tables were open and somehow people found other guests they knew and sat together. Minor issue was groomsmen who are relatives of the groom didn’t have a seat initially because more distant relatives like cousins sat at the table assigned to the grooms family. It was easy to fix, as we moved some of the kids to another table to make room otherwise no drama. It all went well thankfully.

What we are doing is the head table will be me and FH in the middle (BM beside him and MOH beside me) and either bridesmaids on my side and groomsmen on his side or maybe pair them up. Next to the head table on my side will be my parents, grandparents and some aunts and uncles. Next to the head table on FH's side will be his parents, his grandparents and some of aunts and uncles. As for the other tables, that will be tricky. We we want to do is put our friends together, my cousins from my mom's side together and my cousins from my dad's side together. We are going to do the same for cousins. Also do the exact same thing with all our aunts and uncles.

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What is a lounge wedding reception?

View Quoted Comment We are having high tops, barstools, small tables for four, sofas, chairs and ottomans. No assigned seating. People can just hang out where they want.