Wedding party table..

tiffanyrenee08

So I know it's personal preference but I'm stuck. I'm doing almost 90% of my wedding planning by myself.. I had just talked to a wedding decorator a few days ago and he mentioned the wedding party table at the reception and how it will be set up. He asked if it will be all of us (bridesmaids, groomsmen + us) or only us.. Well, I have never saw it done before with only the bride and groom and I have to say I kind of like the idea.. But when I told my mother and my sister who is MOH she seemed offended.. I mean a part of me understands.. but everyone in the wedding party has a spouse or bf/gf and i'm sure they are not going to want to sit at our table the whole night. Any suggestions?

Viczaesar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_wedding-party-table?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:5bf64dd7-20b0-47d7-bcb3-32d5b6f89e97Post:b43a0ec0-f7d4-4b1b-8bac-b62e50f9605d">Wedding party table..</a>:
[QUOTE]So I know it's personal preference but I'm stuck. I'm doing almost 90% of my wedding planning by myself.. I had just talked to a wedding decorator a few days ago and he mentioned the wedding party table at the reception and how it will be set up. He asked if it will be all of us (bridesmaids, groomsmen + us) or only us.. Well, I have never saw it done before with only the bride and groom and I have to say I kind of like the idea.. But when I told my mother and my sister who is MOH she seemed offended.. I mean a part of me understands.. but everyone in the wedding party has a spouse or bf/gf and i'm sure they are not going to want to sit at our table the whole night. Any suggestions?
Posted by tiffanyrenee08[/QUOTE]
Your wedding party shouldn't be separated from their guests.  A sweetheart table with just the two of you is a good solution, or if they all fit you can do your wedding party + guests with you, or just MOH and BM plus their guests, or you and your parents, or...the choices are endless, as long as you aren't separating couples.

jessicabessica

What does your FI think?

I think head tables are a little dated.  I can really only remember seeing one at one wedding (and that was a head table that incldued spouses/SOs of the wedding party).  You should include wedding party spouses/dates in the head table, as PP mentioned.  

We sat at a round table with our siblings and their SOs.  I have seen a sweetheart table many times, and I like that it's very easy to go and talk to the couple when they're there.  One friend of mine had various friends come up and sit with her at her table while her H was walking around so we got to chat a little, which was really sweet.

AddieCake

We did a sweetheart table for just us, and we were very glad we did it that way b/c it was the only private time we had together all day. 

itzMS

Head tables are definitely a Midwestern thing, so it's understandable that your mom and sister might not want to deviate from tradition.

However, the majority of the individuals in your wedding party would much rather sit with their spouse/date and other guests versus being "on display" at a long, elevated table!

Do the table with just you and your FH!

Carson386

The table our venue has does not fit the whole WP, so we decided to have FI and myself, with his BM and my MOH with their dates.

OliveOilsMom

H & I had a sweetheart table and really enjoyed our private time together.  It's such a crazy day, start to finish, that having that alone time with my new husband was nice.  It also allowed us to eat and then do table visits between courses of dinner.

And while your mom & sister may be shocked at the idea of a sweetheart table, I think your sister will really enjoy it when she gets to sit at a round table and be able to talk to everyone else at her table, instead of just the person to her right or left.

B2Z728

We did a sweetheart table. It was nice to have a few minutes alone with H while we were eating our meal. We scattered the rest of our bridal party, sitting them with their significant other and with other people we knew they'd enjoy sitting with. I think they were pretty happy we did this. 

When my brother got married they had one large round table with just the bridal party and themselves, without our significant others (I was a bridesmaid). Most of us were not at the table most of the time, except for when the courses were brought out to the tables, because we wanted to see our significant others. I wish they placed us with them to begin with. 

tiffanyrenee08

Thanks everyone. I think that the more I really think about it, I like the idea better. It's so much more intimate. This day is about us, not about ALL of us. We are doing almost everything else the more traditional way.. we are giving our wedding party gifts, so I think that they will know we appreciate them, but we should be the center of attention, not them. We have 8 people in our wedding party, plus us .. so that's 10 people.. kind of seems like a lot at 1 table.

I told my MOH (my sister) that we can always reserve a table or two closest to us, for people in the wedding party. Like said above, I think it is a midwestern thing, because I have never been to a wedding where they had only a sweetheart table.. I'd like to do something different.

sclavell

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_wedding-party-table?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:5bf64dd7-20b0-47d7-bcb3-32d5b6f89e97Post:9477c36a-2676-4d92-9e8c-70f0401b1d2c">Re: Wedding party table..</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks everyone. I think that the more I really think about it, I like the idea better. It's so much more intimate. This day is about us, not about ALL of us. We are doing almost everything else the more traditional way.. we are giving our wedding party gifts, so I think that they will know we appreciate them, but we should be the center of attention, not them. We have 8 people in our wedding party, plus us .. so that's 10 people.. kind of seems like a lot at 1 table. I told my MOH (my sister) that we can always reserve a table or two closest to us, for people in the wedding party. Like said above, I think it is a midwestern thing, because I have never been to a wedding where they had only a sweetheart table.. I'd like to do something different.
Posted by tiffanyrenee08[/QUOTE]

Hi Tiffany, we originally decided to have the bridal party sit with their significant others but they all wanted to be together.  This obviously threw a monkey wrench in my planning but we decided to have three tables set up in the front of our reception room and have our bridal party and their significant other sit with us.  Our table is in the center and one table on each side of us for our bridal party.  Everyone is pleased and my husband and I still have our time to ourselves. Good Luck with your planning and remember it's your day and you should have things the way you want them.  You can welcome input from your family and bridal party but go with what makes you happy.  sreyes419