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Open seating for buffet reception?

MayberryAfterMidnightMayberryAfterMidnight member
Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment First Anniversary
in Outdoor Weddings
There's a post - and some arguments! - going on over on the reception ideas board about open seating and it got me thinking. Many people there seem to think that guests prefer at least assigned tables (if not assigned seating), especially guests who may not know many other people. My FI and I are having a somewhat casual outdoor wedding at my parents' farm and the reception will be under a tent in the yard, with a buffet dinner. The guest list has grown somewhat from we originally envisioned - now up to almost 90 guests, 75% of which are family. I had not planned on having assigned seating of any kind because of my wedding's casual nature. However, I'm now wondering whether guests would appreciate at least having assigned tables. Does it matter that my dinner's a buffett? What are you other outdoor brides planning?
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Re: Open seating for buffet reception?

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    AddieCakeAddieCake member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited February 2013
    Our lunch was a buffet and we did assigned tables.
    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
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    QueerFemmeQueerFemme member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    I didn't vote, because there is no "right" answer.  We had a casual, outdoor wedding, and many of our guests didn't know each other.  And the open seating plan was fine for us. No one was fighting for a seat and everyone had plenty of room to sit with whomever they wanted.  However we did have to make sure we had plenty of extra seating.

    Our guest list was about 120-130 people, and we had enough seating for about 150-160. So, there was no possibility that someone would want to sit with their family, and wouldn't be able to.  If you go with open seating, make sure you have at least 20% extra seating space.    So, if your guest list is 90, I would have enough seating for at least 100-110 people.

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    georgiamiller00georgiamiller00
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    Hi there I would prefer assigned tables, it is much more organized because its a buffet, so you can get your family members in place, other than that You are to enjoy your Wedding day without much hassle. Cheers ! Wink
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    Jenni8412Jenni8412 member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment First Anniversary
    We had a similar situation with a casual buffet lunch for just under 90... One other point about assigning tables was it moved the process along faster by allowing the emcee to call two or three tables to the buffet line at a time.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    We are reserving some tables for immediate family but the rest is open seating. we are also following the advice to have more seating than people.
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    kaos16kaos16 member
    First Answer First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_outdoor-weddings_open-seating-for-buffet-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:666Discussion:8bcccbb4-98c9-488f-beb3-bbe398b1e1f0Post:b8c94c8e-afb4-48c0-b96c-30f4ca64745c">Re: Open seating for buffet reception?</a>:
    [QUOTE]We are reserving some tables for immediate family but the rest is open seating. we are also following the advice to have more seating than people.
    Posted by mauraacro[/QUOTE]

    I don't love this idea personally.  I think that if you are reserving spots for some, you should just do assigned tables for everyone. 

    I do however agree with PPs that if you plan to allow for open seatings, you should really provide seating for more guests than you expect to have as people will likely not fill tables to capacity.
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    Sara G to beSara G to be member
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    I was going to just do open seating, but then I started thinking about people feeling "left out" I still have no clue what I'm going to do. Truthfully I'm just feeling lazy and don't want to make tables.
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    lrobi13lrobi13
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    I am from the south and 95% of the wedding I have been to had open seating.  The few times I have been assigned to a seat I was put with people I really did not enoy sitting with and moved asap once people moved to the dance floor.

    I am having an outdoor wedding at my mom's house and I will not be assigning people seats.  In any case, I hope that people will be moving around from the casual seating area, the tables, and the dance floor!
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    MayberryAfterMidnightMayberryAfterMidnight member
    Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment First Anniversary
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_outdoor-weddings_open-seating-for-buffet-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:666Discussion:8bcccbb4-98c9-488f-beb3-bbe398b1e1f0Post:fa992adc-3b36-4d7a-8cf4-f029f1e91005">Re: Open seating for buffet reception?</a>:
    [QUOTE]I was going to just do open seating, but then I started thinking about people feeling "left out" I still have no clue what I'm going to do. Truthfully I'm just feeling lazy and don't want to make tables.
    Posted by Sara G to be[/QUOTE]

    Thanks for the great advice everyone! I'm feeling a bit like Sara G to be...still deciding what to do. My wedding's also in the South and I do want people to mingle, but I'm thinking assigned tables might be appreciated by a good number of my guests. Of course now I've got one more thing to add to do my "To Do" list! Anyway, this was helpful - thanks for weighing in!
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    Sara G to beSara G to be member
    First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_outdoor-weddings_open-seating-for-buffet-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:666Discussion:8bcccbb4-98c9-488f-beb3-bbe398b1e1f0Post:6e9e97a0-3742-481a-ad2d-8dfa4a5aafce">Re: Open seating for buffet reception?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Open seating for buffet reception? : Thanks for the great advice everyone! I'm feeling a bit like Sara G to be...still deciding what to do. My wedding's also in the South and I do want people to mingle, but I'm thinking assigned tables might be appreciated by a good number of my guests. Of course now I've got one more thing to add to do my "To Do" list! Anyway, this was helpful - thanks for weighing in!
    Posted by MayberryAfterMidnight[/QUOTE]

    FI hates the idea of assigned tables. He said if we assign them then we are going to assign it so noone know each other the the tables! Sometimes he just makes me laugh. I would just hate to have someone be sitting at a table with no one. I mean that won't happen, but its still my fear.
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    jess9802jess9802 member
    First Comment First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    We had a backyard wedding with about 45 guests and not a lot of room for extra seating (we had six 60" round tables). I wanted assigned tables, but my MIL and DH vetoed me, and I decided not to die on that hill.

    So, the reception starts, and a couple of friends of mine, who didn't know anybody else at the wedding, sat at one table. They were soon joined by DH's sister and stepsiblings. My MIL had envisioned them sitting at one table with my stepson, but now there was no room. Meanwhile, stepson sat at our table. So when MIL and FIL came to the table to sit down, the table was already full. MIL, in a huff, grabbed her plate and was going to sit at another table by herself (later occupied by about four of my relatives). I had to call MIL back, grab a chair, and shift everyone over at our table to make room for her.

    I did somehow manage to not say, "And this is why I wanted assigned tables."

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