Saying the words, seating plan, is enough to bring many wedding planning couples out in a cold sweat! But the good news is it doesn’t have to be as scary as you might be thinking, you’ve just got to be patient and prepared. To ensure there’s no words over the starter, today we have ten tips to help you decide on your perfect seating plan…
(Find super suppliers for gorgeous seating plans here)
Do you really need a seating plan?
Just like every wedding decision you make, deciding to have, or not have a seating plan is your choice. Intimate weddings with smaller guest numbers work well without a pre-decided seating plan, but larger events can definitely benefit from having one – for one thing it makes sure everyone gets a seat! If you choose to have one the next decision is to assign each guest their exact seat, or assign evert guest to a table and let them choose which seat they want.
Know your guests and be prepared…
Give yourself plenty of time to perfect the plan, which will mean asking your guests to RSVP in plenty of time.
1. Print out your confirmed guest list.
2. Ask your venue for a table plan layout so you can easily choose who goes where.
3. If you need to ask for help with your seating plan, consider your choice wisely and don’t have too many people weighing in with their advice – too many cooks and all that!
4. Group people together who should be together first of all, such as families and kids etc. After than work on friends/family that you think will enjoy each others company.
5. Seat your close family and friends closest to you at the top table.
6. Don’t try to mix things up and throw in any crazy surprises! Whilst making up two non-talking friends might seem like a fairytale idea, leave that for another day.
7. Don’t stick all the single guests together, dot them throughout their natural friends and groups.
8. Consider guest with specific needs and seat accordingly, for example, some may need easy access to the bathrooms.
9. Don’t print too soon. Whilst it might be appealing to have the seating plan signed, sealed and delivered weeks before the wedding, in reality you could have changes such as dropouts last minute, so leave the final printing until the very last minute.
10. Don’t stress over it! Yes, easier said than done, we understand that, but in the grand scheme of things as long as everyone has a seat and a fabulous meal, job done!
(Featured image: Table Plan Design)
