Seating chart

Personally I think a seating chart is really helpful. You don’t have to assign seats, just tables and it’s not that hard. This keeps family members together, it avoids the need for extra tables because you will have odd numbers and not fill tables and it helps keep the important family members near the front for the activities. Just my opinion but even as a guest I like them.

If you don’t have a seating chart you will need 20% more chairs/tables/place settings etc than people because people don’t seat themselves efficiently and will get split up from their families.

What is your dinner situation like? We are having a plated 4 course dinner. We are having assigned seats to specify what each person is having for dinner, i.e. Steak or vegetarian, etc. Otherwise the servers wouldn't know how to serve courses or to whom. If you're having a buffet and guests are serving themselves and you trust them to sit themselves, then I don't see that you really need one.
i thought it would be a lot harder to do the seating chart than it actually was. FH and i did it together in like an hour or hour and a half.

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OK so I don't really have to tell them where to sit at the table just give them a number to sit at?

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I guess I don't really understand this. If I have so many guests and so many chairs for them to sit at how will it get messy?

Sorry, I am thick skulled and my brain isn't allowing me to see this.

However, I can almost grasp it. Help me, really see it though. I promise I am not really this dense

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OK now that makes sense. We are doing a smoked brisket and pulled pork BBQ buffet. I can totally understand for your situation with the 4 course dinner and servers. However, I think if we told our crew we were doing that they wouldn't come haha they may be a little too country for that

View Quoted Comment Yes just assign the table. Not the seat.

I'm not doing a seating chart at all, and I have actually been to more weddings without one than with one. I get it for a plated dinner, but ours is going to be a buffet and I am more focused on the younger crowd having fun and on the dance floor with us and the band! I will have a few tables reserved for family but otherwise, most people aren't gonna be just sitting.

You don't have to necessarily assign seats but you should assign tables. you would end up with people getting sat next to someone they don't know well enough or chairs all over the place bc they want to be by friends. it's easier for EVERYONE, your guests included, if they know where to sit.

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OK that makes sense. Just take the groups that know each other and plop them at the same table. Thank you!

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Same here, that's why I wasn't really considering having one. However, now that I can understand a bit better I might just group the friends together to avoid the awkward small talk at a wedding part.

Then again...I might just let the sparta it out haha

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Exactly. that's what we did. it took me minimal time to get it together too.

View Quoted Comment People won’t seat themselves efficiently because they most likely won’t naturally clump together in groups of 8 (or however many chairs are at each table). You’ll end up with an empty seat or two at each table because a family of 5 will sit down and then no one will sit next to them because the table feels full in their minds; at another table, two couples and a group of 3 friends will sit down (7) will sit down, leaving a single empty seat that no one will take.


You’ll also end up with the awkward, first day of middle school cafeteria pause where everyone thinks “oh god, where do I sit?”, making the seating process a lot slower and taking time away from other activities. Also, there’s a good chance of things like grandma ending up in the back corner of the room right next to the DJ booth happening.

I agree with PPs that you don’t need assigned seats unless you’re doing a plated dinner, but assigned tables will save you some money and save both you and your guests some stress and awkward moments.

View Quoted Comment Because people don’t divide up neatly into table-sized groups. People leave one chair between them and the next person, you end up with odd spare chairs at a table so couples get split up, grandma who can’t move fast enough to get a table at the front gets stuck at a table near the back where she can’t see or hear anything, and because of the random empty chairs you do need extra place settings. Just assign tables - it honestly took us about fifteen minutes to do and saved headaches in the end.

I’ve been to a wedding without a seating chart. They had two tables reserved for VIPs (parents and whatnot) and the rest was open seating. It worked out fine. Everyone was able to find a seat, and we had a mystery couple at our table who had a blast listening to our shenanigans. However some venues require you to have a seating chart, so check that before deciding on anything. I am not having one, but I am also not having a formal sit down dinner. I think if you’re having a buffet it’s much easier to go without.

View Quoted Comment It’s okay! So you know how at the movies the theater doesn’t fill up with how many seats there actually are because people leave a seat empty between a person they don’t know? That same thing happens at weddings. People don’t group themselves into groups of 8 on their own so a couple will sit down at a table that’s open but leave a seat between because they don’t know the couple next to them. Then a friend group of 5 tries to sit down and doesn’t fit etc. So people are either moving seats or asking people to scoot over or end up at a table really far away and things like that.

My FH and I both have family members that don't get along but we want all of them the there so by having a seating chart we can control the level of interaction between the two parties. It's kind of precautionary on our parts but the other reasons above are good ones too.

I've been to many weddings that didn't have a seating chart and they were fine. We're not doing one because I really don't want to have to put people together. Nothing is more awkward than being sat at a table with people you don't know or people you don't like. We will be having reserved tables for family and VIP guests but everything else well be open seating. I'm confident that my guests can figure it out.

I'm all for seating charts.

I think it depends on how your reception venue is set up and how many people are coming! i’m having 130+ people coming so i NEED to do a seating chart or it’d be a mess!