Seating Chart?

whinkle863

I've been throwing around the idea of not having a seating chart. Instead, just allowing everyone to pick their own tables. I went to a wedding where this was done and it really seemed to be a non-issue. Everyone sat where they pleased and were able to sit with who they wanted. Any thoughts on this?

Avion22

This topic is covered quite often on these boards.

If you do "open seating" then I would highly recommend having 10-15% more seats/place settings than you have people attending.   Tables will not fill up -- some will have one or two seats left over where nobody will want to sit (because they would have to split up their party).  This means higher rental fees for place settings, extra centerpieces, possibly a bigger hall...

Or you could take an hour of your time to think about which guests would enjoy sitting next to each other, or who would have what in common with whom, and put together a thoughtful seating plan.  Remember that people won't spend all night glued to their tables -- they will eat dinner, then get up and mingle, dance, etc.   

If you don't want to do a big chart, consider assigning people to tables, but not specific chairs.  You can use escort cards -- small place-cards that you set out on a table, one per guest, in alphabetical order, than say something like "Mr. Thomas Jones, Table 7" "Mrs. Sally Miller, Table 5."  Guests find their card, take it with them to their table, and claim a seat by placing their card at their place setting.    This removes a lot of the stress of people feeling like they have to rush to claim a good seat, worry about who they are going to sit with (or worry about being the one couple that nobody else decides to sit with...).     You can buy tented cards from Michaels or Office Depot and run them through your home printer for less than $10, and like I said, maybe an hour's worth of work.

AdeleDazeem

As a guest, I hate open seating.  I much prefer taking time to chat with people after the ceremony and mingling during cocktail hour all the while knowing there is a seat reserved for me at the reception.  If it's open seating, there's a certain amount of organization that has to go on among the guests so they are seated comfortably.  It's annoying and sometimes stressful.

EDIT: Also, if you look at the event as a whole, of course you'll think "this is a non-issue."  People are going to sit and eat - it will look great from the outside.  But that doesn't always mean that it is.

DramaGeek

I've only been to weddings with open seating and it's never been a problem.  Honestly, I'd be a little offended at assigned seats, as if I can't take care of finding the people I want to sit with on my own.  However, I think you need to know your crowd - if they expect assigned seating, then you probably need to do it.

Lisa50

Open seating can work.  I've been to quite a few receptions and, as PP aluded to, some tables were partially empty (a chair or two dragged to another table). 

We chose to assign tables (not seats) and it worked out very well.  It had the added advantage of keeping the family with the two little kids (children were not invited) on the other side of the room.  Yay!!

crazykatiemae

i've only been to one wedding where there was absolutely no seating or table chart and while it was technically a non issue, everyone still ate dinner and no one went crazy because they didn't know where to sit, there are some things to consider if you don't want to do any type of seating chart:

1. as Avion mentioned, you'll want to have more tables because the last thing you want is to have to have couples or families with children have to split up between tables in order to find open seats. plus, if you don't, instead of someone moving to a table that has an empty seat, they may pull a chair to another table so there are extras at one.

2. take into consideration how many guests will RSVP yes, but not show up. my coordinator said about 10% will be no shows. obviously you don't want to count on this, but if you add a few extra seats/tables and 10% or even 5% don't show, it might leave empty tables or make your reception feel emptier than it is.

3. take into consideration how many guests you have coming that won't know anyone or more than a few people at the wedding. in a perfect world, these guests would meet up with the other guests in their situation, sit together, and become friends by the end of the night. but in the real world, they might wind up sitting at a table with their date alone feeling out of it, or being the last one or two people at a table full of old friends, and being kind of excluded from the group that knows each other.

4. if your dinner is a buffet, this might not be a big deal, but if its plated your venue may need you to do some type of name/place card anyway so they can identify who is eating steak and who is eating chicken.

Personally, we are doing assigned tables (8 people per table) and then beyond that, our guests can arrange themselves at the table. Overall, I hightly doubt that this decision will make or break your wedding, there are are just some things to think about related to both options