Seating Chart or No Seating Chart?

I am always pro seating chart. It’s nice to know I’ll have a seat at a table with my date. Not having a seating chart really only works well if you’re having a small, intimate wedding.


Putting together a seating chart honestly doesn’t take that much time. We grouped people together in clusters by groups of friends and went from there.

How many people are you having? If it's more than like 30, it is always best to do a seating chart. If there isn't any drama that precludes people from sitting together, it will take you all of 20 minutes max to assign tables. People do not seat themselves efficiently into groups of 8-10. Therefore, you run the risk of people being separated from friends or family and you will have to have more tables than people to make sure that people aren't separated since guests will leave a chair between them and another person and such. Even if people mingle later on, it is much easier for guests to say "ok, I'm at table 10" and find a seat at that table rather than enter the reception room like a kid on the 1st day of a new school at a cafeteria going "so where do I sit?". You can buy cheap tent cards for about $10 and print out the table assignments. Hobby Lobby has table numbers for about $2-3.

We are doing assigned tables! I have been to wedding where there aren't and it always awkward and there's always the table of oddballs. I am definitely pro seating chart. We are going to do full on signed seating because we are going to put the favors at their seats and I am making little gifts for the children that are coming so they will be placed at their seats for them. Then we also won't have to have extra tables or anything like that because everyone will have their assigned seat. So if you don't RSVP then you don't get a seat

We hadn’t planned on having a seating chart since we are not planning a super large wedding. However, after going to my cousin’s wedding last summer, we have completely changed our minds! They chose not to have a seating chart, and it was a chaotic disaster! Families and friends were split up because people did not seat themselves properly. Several couples ended up sitting awkwardly at tables with complete strangers. We didn’t rush into the reception area right after the ceremony, so by the time we got in there most the tables were full. We had been told tables close to the front had been reserved for family members, so we didn’t see a need to rush. However, random couples who had not been able to find seats together elsewhere had started sitting at the reserved tables. The table my fiancé and I ended up at was mostly family, but also included one of these straggler couples that nobody knew. It was so awkward! You didn’t want to ignore these people sitting with you, but you also didn’t know them and didn’t want to make awkward small talk with them instead of having real conversations with the family members at the table you hadn’t seen in a long time. I think it made for a pretty negative experience for a lot of people.

I am very pro seating chart, but if you absolutely do not want one make sure you get a lot of extra tables and chairs.

Having attended countless banquet type events and receptions, the *only* time you can get away with no seating arrangement is for cake and coffee or afternoon tea.



With a full dinner of any kind where guests are sitting to eat, a seating arrangement is always a must have. It is sheer chaotic madness everytime if you don't. People save seats for others and refuse to give them up even when it's clear that person will not be sitting there. Couples and families always get split up. People who should not be together (feuding relatives/parents) get stuck at the same table. Do everything possible to avoid that by putting similar guests together with escort cards. It doesn't matter if it's a buffet or not. Also if guests have to preselect their, make it easy on the waitstaff too.

Also the size of your guest list is irrelevant. Even with as few as 5 or 10 guests, make it easy on them by having a seating arrangement.

VERY pro-seating chart...in addition to the reasons mentioned already, if you don't do a seating chart there is a VERY strong recommendation that you need to plan for 20-25% more seats/tables/place settings than you actually need because, as a pp mentioned, guests will not seat themselves efficiently. They will leave awkward gaps; a family of three will end up in a space that could have seated that family of five who are then left wandering around and/or splitting up, etc. It is not hard to do a seating plan, and in the long run it will be cheaper for you and much easier for your guests. If you do escort cards (a small place card with each guest's name and their assigned table number, all set out on a table at the entrance to the reception) guests can grab their card and head to their table. Escort cards are also much easier than a big printed seating chart because if there are last minute changes you can just redo a couple of cards rather than having to reprint a whole chart.

In addition to only having to change a few escort cards last minute rather than a big chart, there is no traffic jam to try to read names on an easel, as well as remembering your assignment if you get sidetracked. Just find your name on the cards, grab yours and go, referring to it on the way when you mingle with others and forget your table number. It can also be color coded for dinner selections that waitstaff sees at a glance.

Please assign tables. It’s often disastrous when couples don’t. Wedding planner Jamie Wolfer has a great YouTube video about this.

Do assigned tables

Assigned tables are the way to go! Not only does it save everyone's stress and time (plus everyone has a spot with people they know) it's also budget-friendly. To accommodate not having a seating chart, you need more tables. This means more centerpieces and favors plus the cost for those tables and chairs. Just easier to do the seating chart.

I would absolutely assign tables! Without table assignments, you risk couples/families being split up. It is not hard to do and really makes a reception flow much smoother!

I think even if you are not doing a plated dinner its still a good idea to have a seating chart. It would be awkward for people if they could not sit with people they know, or for someone attending your wedding who doesnt know anyone. Just makes it more comfortable for your guests