Seating chart

Are you thinking in lieu of escort cards or in lieu of assigned tables? (I have different answers for each)

At the minimum have escort cards with assigned tables. That gets rid of any confusion with a seating poster which are often difficult to read, create traffic jams and guests forget their assignments on the way to the tables when they start chatting with others. They are also very expensive compared to escort cards which can be added quickly and easily if there is a typo or someone needs to be moved. With escort cards, guests find their name, grab the card and go.


Assigned tables (let them pick the seat) give guests a home base for their jacket, purse, etc. After dinner they can get up and mingle.
If you are having a plated dinner with waitstaff, your caterer will require a seating arrangement and escort cards labeled somehow (different color card stock for each menu choice) to let them know who gets what at each table without pandemonium. Without a seating arrangement, couples and families get split up, grandma hordes a table for guests who don’t sit with her and you need twice as many tables and chairs. It’s ptsd from the high school cafeteria and how awkward embarrassing that was. Please don’t do that to your guests.

I'm confused by this - are you assigning tables? or are you just going to let it be a free for all? I advise at least assigning people to tables so people aren't completely lost and awkwardly trying to find a seat that is open and then have to sit apart from their friends/family. If you are assigning tables you have to have some kind of either chart or escort cards telling people which table they are sitting at - tables are usually numbered to tell people where to go.

I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware there was a difference! I meant like assigning tables/ seats.

You need to assign tables so that people aren't trying to figure out where to sit, so that you don't need extra tables and chairs, so that families aren't split, so your and your FS' families get the tables near you, and so that people aren't pulling chairs to different tables.

Hi Stephanie! We assigned tables as we had a plated dinner served. It helps the staff know who ordered which dish and which guests had allergies/ingredients eliminated. We did it for multiple reasons such as ensuring parents had seats up front and we married during covid and sat guests by household for safety. I highly recommend it! Hope this helps ❤️

Pros of not doing it: No-one is confused. You have even distribution of people

Cons: High school cafeteria with everyone saving seats for people. Some tables of 16. Some of 4. People feeling stressed to even sit with their date, since mostly single seats are left.

I went with assigned tables and used a big chart. i had a ton of guests so if i did escort cards that just would have taken way too much space on a table and too much time so a board was easier for me