Seating charts🤔

Yes, assigning people to particular tables is definitely a thing and highly recommended. If you leave it up to the guests to pick their own tables then it could take a while, not be very organized and you would probably need extra seating because guests don't generally seat themselves well. They might fight over who gets to sit where or you could end up with some tables of twelve and other tables of two. When doing a seating chart, you will want to think about groupings. For example, it would make sense for the bride's parents and siblings and their significant others to be at one table and likely very close to the bride and groom. Once you have family done, then you will want to consider friends. So for us, we had a good amount of college friends and most of them knew each other so we sat then together. For other friends that didn't know each other, we sat certain friends with either people we thought they would get along with or other people they did know. For example, one of the groomsman's parents attended our wedding. The groomsman and my husband have a mutual friend so we sat her and her significant other with his parents. His parents have known her since she was a little girl and vice versa so it made sense to sit them together. My husband actually did our seating chart so I thankfully didn't have to worry about it.

I don’t think there is a need for it, unless you just want to do it! We aren’t having assigned seats.


If you do want to assign seats, you will need to get a layout of the venue, have the tables and chairs arranged how you like them, and just assign family together, bridal party, FH family, etc. you will also need a way to announce the seats such as a sign, place cards with name, etc. It’s really up to you and FH if you would like to do that or not

I would have (and we did) assigned tables. You won't hear complaints, because you're the bride, but some people are uncomfortable with trying to find a seat. I, personally, get terrible anxiety figuring out who to sit with (feel like I'm intruding). Even at *my own rehearsal dinner* I was uncomfortable finding a seat/table.

You need to know how many tables you'll have, how many people they seat, number/name them and then just play with who goes where.

I had a similar post to this not too long ago and was drowning in responses lol. We're deciding to just do a table seating chart but NOT seat assignments. We aren't having the meal plated and served, so we believe assigned seating would be a bit much, plus we won't have to purchase place cards, just the table numbers.

If you do a table seating chart, make sure your bridal party and family are seated at the tables nearest you and your SO, then go from there!

I think that assigned seating is optional. I've been to two weddings where there was no assigned seating and it was great. Because of that, I'm not creating a seating chart. I also think it may be wise to not create one with covid.

In my personal opinion, assigned seats at a wedding are 100% personal preference. I've been to weddings where there wasn't assigned seating(tables) and it worked fine, and I've been to other weddings where it was a total nightmare and there were 2-3 guests at one table and 11-12 at another b/c guests pulled chairs and place settings from one table to another. My husband and I opted to do assigned seating/assigned tables. We had a larger number of people at our wedding and we wanted to make sure everyone sat with someone they knew, their group of friends, certain family members sat together, our coworkers sat together, and guests who didn't know many people would be with someone we thought they would get along with. We also had some guests at our wedding that we knew couldn't sit with others because of personal reasons between the two. Overall, our seating chart was easy to put together, b/c we just assigned our guests to tables and not an actual seat, and my husband actually volunteered to do it and just asked me to look over it before we finalized it and I started making the escort cards.

Seating charts are definitely a thing and I recommend them 100000% of the time. Assigned seats aren't a necessity, but I would assign tables. As a guest, I find receptions without assigned tables to be super awkward. It's like finding a place to sit in the cafeteria on the first day of school. Not only will it be better for your guests, but it's also more economical. Without a seating chart, you should account for about 20% more tables, chairs, centerpieces, place settings, etc. as guests won't seat themselves efficiently.

Thank u all for your suggestions.. I will def take them in to consideration💕

Some people assign seats but i think assigned tables is a better idea because it's less work, in a sense and still has order

Assigned SEATS Arent Necessary But Assigned Tables Will Keep Everything Organized

When people talk about seating charts, they're typically referring to assigning people to tables, not assigning individual seats. That definitely makes a difference in terms of time and stress! Also, if you do open seating, you'll need more chairs (and tables) than people because guests won't fill in all those random empty seats by themselves, and you'll want to avoid splitting up couples/families.


Personally, as a guest, I've had horrible experiences with open seating. I guess I'm not a good "seat picker," lol. I've been a table alone (just me and date at a 10-person table), next to the speaker equipment, with some sloppy drunk groom's coworkers, and more. Guests will never tell the couple things like this, though, so you'll be none the wiser no matter which option you choose.