My Top Table Query

WelshJessiB

When I started planning our wedding 8 months ago, I was sure that rather than having a straight top table at the top of the room (generally on a stage/platform) looking out onto the wedding guests, I would have my top table as a normal round table in the middle of the room with our guests. When I was a bridesmaid a few years ago, I did not like sitting on a top table having everyone looking at you and only being able to talk to the person next to you. So I thought I wanted a normal table as our top table.

But since I have said this to a few people, they have all thought that I would regret being "in with the other guests" rather than on a proper top table.

Does anyone have experience of this? Is there anyone who regrets the way they planned their top table? Did it affect your enjoyment of your day?

Thank you for any help and advice you can offer Xx

(Also, how do you all manage to get your wedding ticker timers on your posts? I have tried but can't work it out :-( hehe)

danieliza1127

We refer to them as a head table, but I totally agree with you, I don't like head tables either.  I don't understand needing to be on display like that.  I'm not sure why anyone would tell you you'll regret it.  Why would you regret sitting and eating near your guests? 

We sat at one round table with our parents and our wedding party sat with their spouses and kids at the round tables immediately next to us.  All of our tables were at the front of the room, but not separated from the guest tables.  You can see in my married bio I think. 

Midgetth

We're having a sweetheart table but we'll be every where socializing with our guests. This way our BMs & GMs can sit with their spouses & other people they know.

mbcdefg

We had a long, one-sided table set up at the front of the room, but it was not elevated. We sat with our wedding party members and their dates.

We thought it would be a regular guest table (since our guest tables were oblong and could seat 10 people, and we had 9 including us), but they set it up like a Last Supper/captain's table, and that was fine.  

TheBeckmeister

You can do a sweetheart table (just you and your new H), or I've seen a "Tuscan" head table, a rectangle table with the bride and groom and the head, next to each other, and the bridal party on the sides of the table, facing each other.  That way they have a few more people to talk to.  Here's a picture:

cutypie953

I, like you, did not like the idea of a head table.  After really thinking out what we wanted, we realized we didn't want to make the wedding party sit together (some were family, others college friends, others work friends) and wanted the wedding party to be able to sit with the rest of the guests they knew.  So, we ended up letting the wedding party sit with people they felt most comfortable with and DH and I had a sweetheart table.  It was small and beautiful and didn't take up a ton of room.  We were only at it for about 10 minutes while we ate and it gave him and I time to just talk together.  We were up socializing and dancing the rest of the time anyways!