Seating chart, yes or no?

Agreed - especially if you'll have anyone coming who doesn't really know anyone else, or only knows people in the wedding party. I'd recommend doing table arrangements - it gives people a place to go but still gives them a little freedom to choose their actual seat.

I like assigned tables but not assigned seats. No direction at all seems like a recipe for chaos and if you have guests who don't really know anyone else it could be stressful for them.

I believe in seating charts. It makes everything go so much smoother in my opinion. This way you know each table will be spaced out and even. If there was no seating chart some tables would end up being jammed packed and others having barely anyone because guests would move chairs and try to fit more at a table then can fit. Seating charts keep the chaos to a minimum in my opinion and make the reception space look better because the guests are evenly spaced out (sorry my OCD comes into play here)

Seating chart all the way. I have been to SOOOOO many weddings and it's always kind of a clusterf*** when it's open seating - plus you would need about 25% more seating than people to account for different groupings and people starting new tables and not wanting to be split up, etc.

I went to walmart and got cute gold foil polka dot place cards and just hand wrote all the names and table numbers. It took maybe an hour. You could easily print them as well. I just set them up on a table, and that was it

We will be putting out guests at specific tables, but they can choose the seat at that table. i mainly want to make sure my coworkers are guaranteed to be together since they know each other. you wouldn't want someone to end up at a table where they didn't know anyone just bc they didn't have a seat available near friends.