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Arranging the Best Wedding Reception Seating Plan

How many seats do you have?

Creating a good wedding reception seating plan is crucial for the comfort of your guests. Before you decide who sits where, you need to know how many seats you actually have. Write down how many tables there are, then how many chairs occupy each table. An average reception will have a long table for the bridal party and smaller tables for the guests. It may be helpful to make sketches to illustrate where the tables are in relation to one another.

Take Help from parents

When creating your wedding reception seating plan, have both your parents and the parents of your fiancé help you. Since they are most likely going to know most of the guests on a personal level, they can help you figure out who should be seated close to each other and who should not.

'Match' guests

Always make sure you keep couples together, as well as children and their parents. If for some reason you are seating people next to one another who have never met, try to “match” them based on traits such as age, personality or interests. They just might hit it off!

Place Cards

It's basic etiquette to use table place cards. These can be handmade or purchased from the same stationery store as your wedding invitations.

Traditional and Alternative Arrangements

The traditional wedding reception seating arrangement for the bridal party involves the bride and groom in the center flanked by their respective parents. But at times, special arrangements will have to be made. One such example is if one of the sets of parents is separated or divorced. In that case, alternative seating arrangements may have to be made.

A little planning goes a long way

When it comes to your wedding reception seating plan, the most important thing is comfort, especially yours. After all, it's your wedding. The key to a successful wedding reception seating plan is to do a little planning, make sure you and your guests are comfortable, and lighten up -- seating arrangements should not cause stress on your big day!