Planning Your Wedding Guest Seating | Whimsical Wonderland Weddings
Planning Your Wedding Guest Seating | Whimsical Wonderland Weddings
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Image by Pete Cranston, full wedding here.
When you begin your wedding planning, it is a rare bride who realises early on just how hard it can be to plan where to seat her guests.
For a start you will probably have had a variety of experiences yourself, some of which you don't wish to replicate for your friends and family, plus it suddenly becomes a subject upon which everyone has a view and gives advice, whether or not it is wanted.
Here at the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners we have some simple advice, based on many years of experience with wedding clients. We also canvassed our members for their advice for you. So here goes...
Unless culturally your guests are simply not used to being allocated somewhere to sit, I would urge you to plan. The most intelligent people often act rather like lemmings at weddings, simply because they want to do the right thing for you and therefore hang around somewhat waiting to be told where to go and what's happening next.
Katrina Otter Weddings say " As tempting as it may be, try to resist the urge to share the table plan with your guests before the wedding. No matter how carefully you think you have considered your seating arrangements you are guaranteed to receive requests from guests who want to change places!"
Image by Struve Photography, full wedding here.
That said, you need not allocate each guest a specific seat. Increasingly many couples are choosing escort cards rather than a traditional table plan: each guest picks up a card with their name on which shows which table they are on, but they can pick which seat they sit in.
This is very useful with last minute changes, as you can simply remove escort cards if guests cannot come, or indeed add if they can. There are also myriad gorgeous ways of displaying them.
The Bespoke Wedding Company explains "We're fans of the escort/placement card system which can make a beautifully designed seating plan table with flowers and other décor and any last minute changes can be dealt with easily by a quick swap of cards!"
Image by On Love and Photography, full wedding here.
If you do go for the traditional table plan, think about where you seat guests. Look at the positions of the tables and put the person on each you want to see you most in the best spot.
Bellissimo Weddings adds "Remember with round tables some people will have to have their backs to you during the wedding breakfast and speeches so sit the important people facing you so you can really see them to catch glances and see their faces during this time."
Image by Anna Taylor, full wedding here.
If you are having children at your wedding, talk to their parents about seating arrangements: it can work really well to have older children on a separate table, not too close to the top table in case they get restless. Put a couple of the eldest in charge - this will make them feel grown up and they can help younger ones find their places.
Image by Helen Lisk, full wedding here.
"When designing your table plan try to match it with your theme, colours and invitation design" Stylish Events reminds us.
"Think about presenting your seating arrangements in a fun and quirky way" suggests Isabel Smith Wedding Design "Fill a room with helium balloons with luggage tags stating the guest's names and table number tied to them. This will act as a fun icebreaker as well as a table plan."
Image by Milkbottle Photography, full wedding here.
Last but not least, and very much a part of planning the seating of your guests, whatever stunning and creative features you provide to help people find their seats, and however early in the reception you show it to them, some simply won't look or will forget.
So, always prepare a number of alphabetical lists which your planner, caterer and ushers can use to seat people without fuss.
Happy planning everyone!
