Reception seating arrangements

kincaidpartyoftwo

Hey all! So we are getting married in October, and both have fairly large bride and groomsmen parties. By fairly large I mean, I have 9 in my party, and he has 6 in his. I am so confused on how to seat people though! One of his groomsmen is my brother, and then my SIL is my bridesmaid. Do I seat them together or at the groom/bridesmaid tables? Also, Two of my maids have pretty large families - is it customer to seat them with their families, or to put them at the bridemaids tables and let the hubbies and kids intermingle with other guests at the tables? I need serious help in this department. Thanks! 

PrettyGirlLost

I  would seat your bridal party with their SO's, especially if both husband and wife are in your bridal party. 

Both FI and I were in a wedding last year where the Bride and Groom had the GM's sit on the Groom's side and the BM's sit on the Bride's side- which meant I did not get to sit with my FI during dinner, and that was annoying to say the least.

If you don't have room at your venue to do a King's Table so that your WP can sit with their SO's, then do a sweetheart table and seat your WP as you would any regular guest.

HisGirlFriday13

Hey all! So we are getting married in October, and both have fairly large bride and groomsmen parties. By fairly large I mean, I have 9 in my party, and he has 6 in his. I am so confused on how to seat people though! One of his groomsmen is my brother, and then my SIL is my bridesmaid. Do I seat them together or at the groom/bridesmaid tables? Also, Two of my maids have pretty large families - is it customer to seat them with their families, or to put them at the bridemaids tables and let the hubbies and kids intermingle with other guests at the tables? I need serious help in this department. Thanks! 

*stuck in the box*

First, obviously seat them with their SOs. Then, I would seat them either with their families or with other people they would know. Since their WP duties are done after the ceremony, they essentially become just guests, and you should treat them as such -- finding them a place to sit with people they might know and get along with.

We didn't seat any of our WP people with each other. My SIL, brother, and nephew (BM, usher, RB) were at a table with my parents; DH's BM and one GM were with other high school friends of his; my MOH and her date were at a table with former/current co-workers of theirs/ours; my other BM and her date were at a table with people I thought she'd have something in common with; and DH's brother (GM) was at a table with his FI, their son, and some of DH's family.

phira

In your situation, I'd plan on sitting with my partner at a sweetheart table, and then seating everyone else as if I didn't have a wedding party. So if one of your bridesmaids is a friend from high school, sit her and her date with your high school friends, etc.

cruffino

we sat the wedding party with their SO's and children (where applicable) at regular tables. DH and i sat with the MOH and BM and their families, then we put the rest of the wedding party with their SO's and other people they knew. we arranged these three tables up front with ours in the middle. 

so we didn't have a sweetheart table or a head table, we just used regular tables and arranged them in a central position. with a party as large as yours, this might work too. 

Inkdancer

The two weddings I've been to recently both handled this very well, and I think either option would work for you.

Wedding 1 seated the members of the wedding party at regular tables. Three of the maids were the bride's sisters--two of them were seated with their dates, parents and grandparents; the other sister was seated with her circle of friends, two of whom were groomsmen. The other groomsman (groom's brother) was seated with the groom's parents, aunt, and uncle. It was classy, everyone got to sit with their SOs, and nobody felt slighted at all.

Wedding 2 made a large King's Table out of two rectangular tables pushed together. The B&G's parents sat there, along with the whole wedding party and their SOs.

Whatever you do, don't break up couples, and don't separate couples from their children. If you don't want to sit near children, don't have a head table.