Are Table numbers necessary?

mfowler4 · June 2012

Okay Ladies, I have another question! I am not familair with proper Wedding Etiquette at all, which I why I decided to come here!!

Question: I will have about 200 people at my reception but we are not having a full course meal. We are serving hor dourves, finger foods, cake, and we will have a candy table. I have 6 bridesmaids and there are 6 groomsmen. I plan to have a sweetheart table for the fiance and I because the wedding party is kind of big and most of them have a SO. I plan to have a huge table reserved for the wedding party and their SOs next to the sweetheart table. Since I am not having a sit-down dinner, are the sweet heart and wedding party tables necessary?

I have also read on these boards about table numbers. Are these necessary for just serving hor dourves, or are they more for receptions with a seating chart?

My fiance doesnt think I should have a seat for each individual person at the reception, but I mean, hor dourves are food too and I would want somewhere to sit if I was eating!

amorg334 · June 2012

You are having 200 people and you and your fiance have your own table along with the bridal party. You need to have table numbers and places for everyone to sit. You do not want mass confusion and have people sit and then they get up to grab a drink and come back and someone new is in there spot. It will just create confusion. You do need order even if you are not having a dinner. I would really do a seating chart and table numbers. It will really help. You are going to be in your own wedding world the day you get married you do not need to worry about people freaking because they can not find a place to sit

mfowler4 · June 2012

Oh okay. That makes sense to me. Idk, but for some reason, and I dont know if I read something and misunderstood it, but I thought I read that a seating chart isnt needed if were not serving dinner. Then i just assumed that if a seating chart is not needed then table numbers were not needed. Thanks Amorg334, I did not think I needed a seating chart..however, the chairs are rectangle and are slide together, sort of like aisles Does that matter? Should I leave them where they are and just put a table number to each individual table?

amorg334 · June 2012

Hmmmm I would think you should still have table numbers on each table just give people a good idea where to sit. As for the chairs, are they all detachable? like can they become individual chairs? if so they should be placed at each table. I am also having 200 people and I know that it could be a mess without some order.. Even eating hor dourves and finger food and cake people want to sit down. When my friends got married two years there cocktail hour had tables so people could sit. Trust me when you are eating all that food you want to be able to sit. Plus a seating chart can be good for all the single people and families to be mingle

mfowler4 · June 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_are-table-numbers-necessary?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:313bed77-030c-4f53-9968-52584e59f536Post:72f3a3ca-eb4e-4630-9bfb-0f8e86b5f64a">Re: Are Table numbers necessary?</a>:
[QUOTE]Hmmmm I would think you should still have table numbers on each table just give people a good idea where to sit. As for the chairs, are they all detachable? like can they become individual chairs? if so they should be placed at each table. I am also having 200 people and I know that it could be a mess without some order.. Even eating hor dourves and finger food and cake people want to sit down. When my friends got married two years there cocktail hour had tables so people could sit. Trust me when you are eating all that food you want to be able to sit. Plus a seating chart can be good for all the single people and families to be mingle
Posted by amorg334[/QUOTE]

<div>Yes, the chairs are freely movable with chair covers. So, it looks like I need to think of something creative to use as table numbers!! haha! I just need to convince my fiance to add table numbers to be budget now :-/ </div><div> How many tables do you have?</div>

amorg334 · June 2012

My wedding isn't until next year but I will roughly have if everyone says yes 25 tables of 8. And you can do table numbers for really cheap. If you go to the wedding classified boards people are always selling stuff and you can always make a post about doing table numbers. I mean there are always a ton of websites that have cute things and for affordable prices... You can probably do then for under 50 dollars if not less

mfowler4 · June 2012

Thanks!!!!

m tulli · June 2012

Print numbers off on the computer. You can get 5x7 frames from the dollar store.

lobster93 · June 2012

Michaels has pre-made tent fold table numbers. I bought a pack of those, and some rhinestones and decorated them myself. Cost me maybe $15.

mica178 · June 2012

You need table numbers (or names) if you are having assigned tables. You need to assign tables or seats if you are only having the same number of chairs as people.

You can do free-seating, but then you really need to have 10-20% more chairs than guests because when people seat themselves, they tend to want only to sit with people they know.

HockeyFan4 · June 2012

I had 16 tables and spent $16. I bought 5"x7" frames at the dollar tree and printed numbers at home. Easy Peasy!

Mrs.B6302007 · June 2012

Our DIYs were super cheap. Scrapbook paper, black letter stickers, a leaf embellishment, and a dollar store frame.

You'll see we didn't have table numbers. We only had 8 guest tables in a very small room so there was nowhere to really wander around looking for your assigned table. But, if you have more tables or a larger space, it's definitely helpful to do numbers in addition to (or instead of) names.

tpender13 · June 2012

Your venue may have numbers for you. We didn't care what ours looked like, so we just used what the venue had.

baystateapple · June 2012

My table numbers were super cheap. I figured nobody would notice them afterward. I printed out 2 of each number (1,1, 2,2, etc.), cut them into squares, glued them onto picks (so they were double-sided) and my florist stuck each one in the centerpiece arrangements at the tables. The cost was negligible (I already had the cardstock and ink left over from making the invitations and programs) and I spent like $2 on the picks.

Maggie0829 · June 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_are-table-numbers-necessary?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:313bed77-030c-4f53-9968-52584e59f536Post:bdfab559-35e0-4da6-95f3-3cb4801608be">Re: Are Table numbers necessary?</a>:
[QUOTE]You need table numbers (or names) if you are having assigned tables. You need to assign tables or seats if you are only having the same number of chairs as people. You can do free-seating, but then you really need to have 10-20% more chairs than guests because when people seat themselves, they tend to want only to sit with people they know.
Posted by mica178[/QUOTE]

This.

If you do decide to do free seating then table numbers are not necessary. For those tables that you would like VIPs to sit (such as your WP and you and your FI) then simply place a "Reserved" sign on the table.

Since you are having just apps and such then free seating could be a good option because more then likely most people will be up and walking around talking to people while munching on food, but I would definitely make sure you have not only enough seats for every guest but also extras because not every table will fill up.

Kate61487 · June 2012

ditto tpender - ask your venue, they very likely have the little stands for table numbers. We spent $0 on ours b/c I decided it wasn't a detail worth thinking about (for me).

Like PPs said you definitely don't have to do table numbers and a seating arrangement, but if you don't you need extra seats. I always prefer a seating arrangement (table assignments, not seat assignments) especially in that large of a party b/c it helps to ensure that I get to sit with the people I'd want to see.

MyUserName1 · June 2012

I did exactly what Bay did, only instead of picks I used craft wire stems that I already had hanging around. H used the same border and fonts from our invitations and printed them up. We also had the leftover cardstock and ink, so it didn't cost us a dime.

I think that assigning tables is a thoughtful thing to do- this way people will get to sit with others they know or will have something in common with. We had some friends who had a heavy hors d'ouvres reception and didn't assign tables. H and I didn't know a soul there besides the B&G and another table ended up taking all of the extra chairs from our table and moving it to theirs. So there were 14 people at that table and just the two of us all alone at ours. It was miserable.

smartlypretty · June 2012

Usually, a party with more than 50 people should really have assigned tables. Otherwise, with 200 people and I'll assume 10 people to a table, you would need about 4 or 5 more tables due to people leaving gaps at the tables.

Habs2Hart · June 2012

My table numbers were free. I cut a branch of a birch tree, cut it up so one side was flat and the other side was on a diagonal into 14 pieces and wrote the table number on them with acrylic paint. I tried to burn it on but the wood burning tool would have taken a day a number, so paint it was!

jemmini6 · June 2012

Also, even if you don't do assigned tables, and provide 10% overage for seating, I'd still have table numbers so that guests have a reference of where they are sitting (I'm assuming they'll be up and moving around to get appetizers, etc) because when all the tables look the same, and when everyone is moving around, it's hard to remember where you left your stuff.

Are Table numbers necessary?

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