Should i purchase (or rent) extra everything just in case? Wedding math is hard!

Are you assigning seats or tables? If so, you should be fine with an exact count, although I'm paranoid and would probably order one or two extra. If you're having open seating, you will need to provide 25% more tables, chairs, center pieces, etc. as guests don't seat themselves efficiently.

View Quoted Comment I haven’t decided if I’m assigning seats...I mean...do I really want the extra headache 🤕😂
But that is good to know. Thank you.

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I think an hour of work creating a seating chart is well worth the financial savings. Open seating is also a headache for guests most times.

Always reserve extras as you can always cancel later. The last thing you want is the need to order more chairs or linens and have your color be out of stock. I guess it depends if you are purchasing or renting though.

If you are using a rental company, or if there is one that you can contact with questions, maybe reach out and ask what they recommend. They have a ton of experience with events like this and would maybe be able to tell you what they usually do.

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If you only have a certain amount of tables and chairs set up, why would guests be inefficient for seating themselves?

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Say you have tables set for 8 people and a family of 4, and a couple sits down first, that leaves two chairs. Your cousin, her husband, and their son need a place to sit. Instead of making her husband sit at a separate table, they're going to take an extra chair from the neighboring table and drag it over there. That puts 9 people at one table and 7 seats at the other.

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Why wouldnt the family of 3 choose a different table?

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That was one scenario, it's not always the case. It's a fact that if you don't provide any kind of seating chart, you will end up with extra chairs at some tables, random single chairs left at others, and couples/families who have to separate. Sure, the family of 3 in this case could have picked a different table, but there isn't always going to be another table with 3 seats open or however many that household may need, especially the last people who arrive to the reception. The odds of everyone finding a seat without having to separate their party or rearrange your seating is slim to none.

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That sounds like my family

Thanks yall! This has been really helpful!

Just FYI - linentablecloth.com is having a sale that ends tonight (5/23/19), which is what prompted this discussion.

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Weddings are so weird: I never would have guessed that people put so much effort into the teeniest things that guests probably don't even notice.

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I'm positive that guests notice having a place to sit. We're not talking about the color of your favor boxes or how you choose to fold your napkins, seating arrangements are a pretty big deal.

View Quoted Comment If guests move chairs to a different table, how does that matter?

View Quoted Comment It matters because then they also have to move place settings and can throw off serving staff if the meal is plated or family style.

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It probably does & doesn't matter at the same time. It matters in the sense that you took the time (or paid someone to take the time) to arrange everything the way you wanted. You have a vision for every detail of your special day & the idea of your guests rearranging things or not noticing the time, money, & effort you put into it all can drive you nuts. However, when the day comes & you're in the middle of enjoying your special day, I highly doubt you're going to notice if your cousins are sitting in their assigned seats or if Aunt Sally pulled a chair over to another table & made things uneven....then again...you might. Just depends on the bride & groom.

I don't know about the answer to this (our caterer and planner are handling that stuff) but, I would like to note that you don't have to actually send the Obamas a wedding invitation to receive a greeting from them. You can do so online, here:

https://barackobama.com/greetings/

Note: I can't promise that this works, because we just did so the other day ourselves and obviously no response yet, but these things are form letters and there are online reports of receiving them so it should work!

I would order a few extras regardless of assigned or opened seating. All it takes is one huge spill to ruin a tablecloth or soak a chaircover or two!

View Quoted Comment I am doing assigned tables. I’ve been to a wedding in the past, that did not have assigned seating and it was extremely awkward. A few tables that our friends were sitting at had already filled up, another table were “saving seats”, and another table had one spot left. We ended up sitting with people we didn’t know and ended up leaving the reception early due to the awkwardness. It was at this wedding, I knew that I would at least have assigned tables at my wedding. It honestly didn’t take me long to create my seating chart. I enjoyed putting couples together, that may or may not know each other, but I knew would have something in common, where it wouldn’t be awkward. I’m sure people will move tables after dinner and that’s totally ok with me, but at least there is some structure and guest have a designated table, they won’t have to walk around asking “is this seat taken”. From personal experience, I say a seating chart is worth it.

I would rather have extras than get a major headache when the time comes.