Seating arrangements

Knottie13257900

I had an idea...I don't know if I'm really going to do this...but would it be really weird for me and the groom to sit at different tables during dinner? There's no head table bc this is a pretty casual affair. I'm trying to maximize the time we get to spend visiting our guests (especially the ones who won't know anyone else at the wedding), so I figure if I can seat him with his friends and I can sit with mine, the friends will be happy. And there will be plenty of time before and after dinner for us to mingle and meet each other's friends.

Maggie0829

There isn't any rule that says you and your FI have to sit together at your own wedding.  This is really up to you and your FI and what you are both comfortable with.  As a guest I may find it weird but again this is a choice you and your FI have to make.

If anyone decides to give a toast, it would be a good idea for you and your FI to get up and stand together as the person gives his little one or two sentence speech.

southernbelle0915

Knottie13257900 said:

I had an idea...I don't know if I'm really going to do this...but would it be really weird for me and the groom to sit at different tables during dinner? There's no head table bc this is a pretty casual affair. I'm trying to maximize the time we get to spend visiting our guests (especially the ones who won't know anyone else at the wedding), so I figure if I can seat him with his friends and I can sit with mine, the friends will be happy. And there will be plenty of time before and after dinner for us to mingle and meet each other's friends.

Usually what happens is the B&G get served first, eat quickly and then do table visits (if they didn't have a receiving line). Table visits mean spending about a minute at each table quickly saying hello and thanking people for coming.

vmj23

As a guest, i would think it was weird.   

wrigleyville

You can sit wherever you want, but I'd find this pretty bizarre.

Knottie13257900

Hmm maybe i'll talk to the groom and see how he feels about it.

wrigleyville

Another thing to consider is that, if you use a sweetheart table, it gives you both some time to talk, eat, and absorb the day. 

I'm not clingy by any means, but I would not have wanted to be separated from my husband right after we got married, even if only for dinner time. We were both riding that high.

Jen4948

While you're not required to sit together, isn't the reason for everyone coming to establish the two of you as a couple?

Given that it would be rude to split up any other couple at your reception, separating you so you can maximize time with friends just doesn't make sense to me. There's a time and a place for everything, and I think that for this occasion, you should be seated together.

That doesn't mean that you have to spend the entire reception glued to each other's sides or that you shouldn't greet your guests-just that you shouldn't spend the whole reception sitting away from each other and socializing separately.

Knottie13257900

I guess that's true! I just looked at the floor plan and I realized there can be a head table that fits more than I thought. So maybe I can fit all the single people (who won't know anyone else at the wedding) at our table after all. No need to split us up.

artbyallie

You're honestly not going to be sitting for long. I think we actually sat for less than 5 minutes total the entire wedding.

ohannabelle

Yep, I would find this weird. Rearrange other tables, take the few minutes you'll have to enjoy dinner together.

MandyMost

We also wanted to maximize the time we spent with friends at our reception. We did a "regular" table, literally in the middle of the room. The other tables were all tables for 8, but we got the bigger size table and put 10 people at it for our table. That way we could each have 2 couples sit with us at our table. It was great to be able to talk to each other, and to be able to talk to our own friends for the short time we were sitting and eating. We got up and did table visits after that, so that's why it was important that we each had 2 couples with us...they'd still have a close friend to talk to even when we weren't at the table. 

During the table visits we did separate a bit. That maximized our time better. We both went to every table, but then essentially walked in opposite directions around it, and one of us would move on faster than the other to the next table.