Are you doing a seating chart?

akg0053

Are any of you doing a seating chart?

If so, how are you displaying escort cards and/or a list of table names? I was thinking of doing ornaments on a Christmas tree but I'm sort of re-thinking that now.

SarahPLiz

I am doing a seating chart, but just for my coordinator to set up the tables. Our escort cards will be thank you notes to each party (couple, family, etc), thanking them for coming, and for any gift that we happen to receive the week or so before the wedding,  that have their name and their table number on the envelope. I plan on writing most of them this weekend. They will be displayed on the table with the guestbook at the entrance to the reception area. Everyone will file past it from the ceremony to the reception, so they can pick up their card there. 

Of course for the gift we receive at the wedding, we will write separate notes. These are mainly thanking them for spending the evening with us. 

BabyBlueNTexas

I am not close to this, but I think we are going with assigned tables and not seats.

Future Ramsey

We aren't doing a seating chart of any kind. No assigned tables or seats of any sort with the exception of reserving a few tables. We aren't doing a 'head' or 'sweetheart' table so I feel like reserving at least 3 tables for my FI & I, the bridal party, and our immediate family is appropriate. Our wedding is sort of upscale, but I figured why add anymore stress to wedding planning? I just felt like it was not necessary to tell people where to sit since most of the time they'll end up sitting where they want. Just my two cents worth . . .

akg0053

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-austin_candles-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:126Discussion:5758915c-d43b-43c2-aadc-4e143a8141d9Post:078a967f-8b30-4d91-bd10-ad474039df5d">Re: Are you doing a seating chart?</a>:
[QUOTE]We aren't doing a seating chart of any kind. No assigned tables or seats of any sort with the exception of reserving a few tables. We aren't doing a 'head' or 'sweetheart' table so I feel like reserving at least 3 tables for my FI & I, the bridal party, and our immediate family is appropriate. Our wedding is sort of upscale, but I figured why add anymore stress to wedding planning? I just felt like it was not necessary to tell people where to sit since most of the time they'll end up sitting where they want. Just my two cents worth . . .
Posted by Future Ramsey[/QUOTE]

<div>Yeah, and normally this would work out fine, except for two main issues. </div><div>
</div><div>First, we have lots of divorce and/or family drama, and I figured it would make it easier on our guests if we pre-planned where they sat so they didn't have to worry about it in the middle of our reception. Also, no, these people cannot behave like adults, as evidenced by how they have acted at recent family events (including weddings AND funerals).</div><div>
</div><div>Secondly, we are having a sit-down plated dinner, and the catering staff asked us to assign seats. In order to get them accurate numbers of each food type to order, we had to put meal options on our RSVP cards. If people just told the catering staff what they ordered, some of them would inevitably forget and order the wrong thing, per our food order placed in advance. </div><div>
</div><div>But, thanks for you input.</div>

pumaaa2010

We have opted to do a hanging display with that coordinates with the table numbers & menus. Postcards from all the places we have been will help people find their table and personalized Menus that have smaller images welcoming the guest will be at each place setting.

My fiance' actually came up with the menu idea after I told him about the postcard idea.

bookish98

This is a long response . . . I hope the details are helpful.

I just got married Saturday.  We had assigned tables and seats.  There were two main reasons for doing this:  1) We wanted to make sure that my friends mingled with my husband's friends and 2) Our dinner was plated, so the caterer needed to know where the vegetarians were sitting.

We used the theknot.com seating chart wizard.  It was a total breeze!  Several guests have told us how much they enjoyed meeting the people we put at their table.  Other guests have told us that they were relieved not have to wander around looking for a place to sit.

One thing we did not do:  seat all the singles together.  We mixed the singles in with the couples, making sure that each single had something in common with someone at the table.  I know this attention to detail was much appreciated.

I hired someone to do our reception stationary –– menus, place cards, table names, and welcome signs.  I had had this crazy notion that I was going to DYI a seating chart.  In the end, I ran out of time and just printed out an index and chart in a pretty font on resume paper.  All of the names were listed alphabetically and grouped by letter; next to the name was the table name (our tables were named after cities).  At the end of the index was a graphic telling our guests where each table was located.  I made four of these and placed them on the table where I would have put my poster-sized DYI seating chart (if I had found the time to make it).

PS:  Yes, a few people did rearrange themselves.