Have you completed your wedding table plan yet? Leaving it too close to the Big Day can cause untold stress at a time when enough is going on. Trying to be extra organised and completing it well in advance inevitably means that changes will be needed, and often making those changes can prove every bit as difficult as starting from scratch.
The trouble with creating a wedding table plan is deciding how all of your guests are going to react to it, and to each other, when they realise the company they’re going to have to keep through a three hour reception.
When it comes to creating your table plan the first thing you’ll need to think about are the tables themselves. The venue may offer either plenty of options, or limitations which in themselves stipulate how the tables will be set out. But where you have flexibility, it’s worth bearing this in mind. The traditional top table seating plan is not necessarily the best arrangement for everyone. With many families becoming increasingly complex a top table can sometimes end up so vast that there’s almost no one left to sit at the remaining tables.
In such cases it may be more practical to have a romantic table for two for the happy couple, with everyone else on standard tables. But have you considered how you’ll label those tables so that everyone knows where they are to sit?
There’s no doubt that having designated places for guests to sit saves a great deal of time and anxiety for all concerned, unless of course the occasion is quite small. But numbering tables presents its own challenges. Clearly table one must be the bride’s and groom’s immediate family, but what of table two? You know full well that those seated at table 23 will be feeling pretty neglected.
Why not abandon numbering your tables, giving them names instead? Perhaps your wedding has a theme, in which case you could have fun giving each table a theme related name. Or you could use flower names, or if you’re deeply in to travel – country names. Although avoid placing the Mother-in-Law in Afghanistan – it might not go down too well.
There are a few rules to consider whatever wedding table plan you choose, such as alternating men and women round tables and seating partners opposite each other. It’s terribly tempting at a time of such romantic bliss to create a table for the singles. Resist the urge to play Cupid and try not to set people up – you won’t be thanked.
Guests at your wedding will be seated for some time, and so it’s worth trying to strike a balance between seating people with those they see every day, and sticking people in the middle of a group of complete strangers. Above all, whatever type of wedding table plan you come up with, make sure it’s thoroughly flexible. Your wedding day is about tying the knot, not getting tied up in knots.
Article written by Adam Leyton, Director of Toptableplanner.com
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