♥ Keeping everyone happy doesn’t need to be difficult ♥
If you will be having a wedding breakfast, creating your seating plan can be one of the most stressful parts of planning your wedding. You want to create the atmosphere where everyone gets on, whilst at the same time ensuring nobody feels left out. Check out SB Events top tips and things to consider helping to make your seating plan arrangements easier.
♥ Seating plan Vs table plan ♥
The most popular option in British weddings are to have all the guests assigned to a certain seat. This way you can make sure that certain friends and family are seated in the most appropriate seats. However, table plans have recently become more popular where guest are assigned to a specific table and then they can decide where they sit on that table themselves. This will allow guests to choose their preferred seat and means that you will not require place cards on the table.
Just remember that if one of your guests has 
requested a meal with a special dietary requirement, tell your caterers where this person is sitting so that they can give the guest the correct meal.
♥ Sizes and styles ♥
You can always opt to have long rectangular tables rather than round tables. The narrow style table increases the range of people you can chat with during the meal.
If you are having round tables, try to keep the number of guests per table to a maximum of 10 as any larger a number makes it harder for guests to hear and speak with each other.
Another alternative is to see whether your venue can accommodate a few different sized tables. It can make the seating plan easier if you have different size groups.
The sweetheart table – If you have a very large top table or are worried about parents and step-parents not getting on – consider having a sweetheart table for just the two of you. This way the attention is still focused on the two of you and you get to spend the meal with each other.
♥ Alternative ideas for displaying your seating plan ♥
Think about how you want to show off your seating plan. There are many alternative and unique ways rather than using a large A1 size board. Take a look at our Pinterest board for some inspiring ideas.
♥ Important things to consider ♥
- Make sure that everyone knows at least one other guest on their table. You might want to sit people next to people they know, or you might want to split them up a bit so they mingle and meet new guests.
- Guests are more likely to get on well if they are similar ages or have similar interests such as work, school, sports etc…
- Make sure the tables are placed so that serving staff have easy access.
- If you are allowing guests to choose their meals, mark the food choice on their place card to help the serving staff.
- You can always try to alternate females and males around the table, but don’t be troubled if this doesn’t work for all tables.
- Always make sure tables are not blocking doors and fire exits.
- If you are having children at your wedding, decide whether you want to put the children next to their parents or alternatively place them on their own children’s table.
- Make sure elderly guests are not sitting too near to any speakers as they may grumble about the noise.
- Place pregnant, elderly and disabled guests and guests with small children close to exits so they have an easy access to toilets and other facilities.
- A lot of the tables will be moved in the evening to make space for the dance floor – Try not to seat elderly, disabled or pregnant guest at tables which are going to be moved after the meal.
- Try to get the tables closest to the top table reserved for close friends and family.
- Stay away from having a table of leftover guests who don’t fit anywhere else. It will be best to mix them across all other tables.
- If you’re inviting a lot of guests to the wedding, consider having two seating charts to avoid a large crowd blocking the doorway.
- Lastly, remember to do whatever feels right for you both – it is your special day. Don’t feel pressured by anyone to put certain guests in certain seats.
Need further help? Whether you are having a low-key event with a few guests or a larger wedding with 200+ guests, organising the seating plans can be a daunting task. SB Events can organise your seating plan and provide ideas and room layouts for seating arrangements for the reception, making it easy to manage if there are any last minute changes that need to be made. For more information contact or email hello@sbeventsplanning.com
♥ We hope you have enjoyed reading our wedding planning hints and tips. If you have, please share with your friends and family and don’t forget to pop across to our social media pages and say hello ♥
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