What’s the biggest aspect of wedding planning that is sure to give you a monster headache? Seating arrangements! You’ve already had to tussle with your parents and in-laws when it came to the guest list, and now it’s time for round two. Who do you seat where? Should you keep social groups together or spread them out among the wedding reception? What about all the children and families?
While seating arrangements are nerve-wracking, there is one thing to look forward to: using a creative and fun way to let guests find their seats.
1. Name Their Place in Style
You’ve painstakingly diagrammed every seat at the reception. For specific seating arrangements, you can still get creative with the place card holders. For instance, a retro chic wedding could use these stylish baroque frames. Not only that, but they double as picture frame wedding favors.
2. Show Off Your Seating Chart
Rather than guests wandering from table to table to find their seats, you could show off your seating chart right as they enter the doors to the reception. The more creative you get, the better. Here, the bride and groom listed guests in alphabetical order and used string to tie each person to their table number. This idea works best when you have assigned tables but not assigned seats. Or you could write out an easy chart with a seating chart kit.
3. Hand Out Escort Cards
When you don’t have enough room for a big display board or your guest list is staggeringly long, use escort cards instead. Guests find their name among the cards and use it to find out their table number. The card essentially escorts the guests to their tables. Plus, you could affix a little favor to them, like these key or heart escort cards.
4. Theme the Tables
A great way to make the seating arrangement fun is to give each table a theme. For instance, if you’re a travel-loving couple, you could have every table themed as a country you’ve spent time in together.
Or, in the case of this couple, you could have each table themed after an animal. Then guests would have to look for that animal among the centerpieces of each table.
5. Don’t Forget the Ceremony!
Don’t get ahead of yourself, though. There’s one place where tradition often trumps everything else: the ceremony. Typically, guests sit on either the bride or the groom’s side. But this is old-fashioned and boring. Instead, leave this sign at the front door of the ceremony: Pick a Seat, Not a Side.
