Reception Seating
Arrangements
Many
brides choose to devise a seating plan for their
guests. This decision may be based on the need to
separate families that do not get along due to a
divorce, guaranteeing the best seats to immediate
family and closest friends or playing match-maker
with the singles. Whatever the bride's reason, the
task is not very simple.
First the bride must have at least a general idea of
how the tables will be arranged at her reception
site as well as how many guests can fit at each
table. Second, the bride has to have a definitive
list of those who have sent an RSVP (which is a
struggle for most brides). Once the bride has the
final head count and a good floor plan, she should
start by placing the parents and other important
guests close to the head table.
Other important considerations include, but are not
limited to: placing a younger crowd near the dance
floor and speakers, keeping the singles together,
separating any guests who do not get along, creating
an easily accessible seat for handicapped
individuals and seating the spouses or significant
others of members of the bridal party together and
near the head table.
After numerous revisions and rearranging the guests
to create the best plan, the bride will have to
develop a way to direct the guests to their proper
table or seat. Round tables have an advantage in
that guests won't have to be assigned a specific
seat; whereas, a long banquet style table will
require individual places to be designated.
Whichever the bride chooses or is required to use
based on the limitations of the reception hall, the
bride will need to identify each table. Most often,
the tables are numbered; however, the bride may
choose to identify different tables by themes,
colors or flowers.
Near
the guest book, the bride should have an
alphabetical list of the guests. This list may
simply be printed on paper or place cards may be
organized with the appropriate table identified on
the card. Displaying a floor plan of the tables may
help the guests find their tables easier. Also, it
may be beneficial to use a host and hostess at the
door to greet the guests and direct them to their
tables as well as the gift table.
Regardless of the time spent creating the plan, the
guests will eventually move about and mingle with
others that they know at different tables.
Sometimes, too, guests will take the liberty of
rearranging their seats. Formal sit-down dinners
seem to work best with seating plans; whereas, a
more informal buffet may work better without a
strict plan.
An option for the bride may be to reserve the best
tables for the immediate family and let the rest of
the guests choose their own seats. Finally, before a
bride becomes set on creating a strict plan she
should realize that this will be a very time
consuming and detail-oriented task that cannot be
done too far in advance and may be too much for her
to handle so close to the wedding.
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