Place settings or No? Opinions..

Re: Place settings or No? Opinions..

• AprilH81 member

  

  February 2014

  You need to have a chair for every person even if you aren't doing a plated or buffet meal. I would put the glasses of water, silverware and napkins at the table so guests don't have to carry them. They sign is okay, but I doubt you will need to tell people to have a seat or eat.

  

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• thesummersky member

  

  February 2014

  I would leave the settings wherever the seats are, and ensure that every person has a seat available to them. The sign is cute!

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• Maggie0829 member

  

  February 2014

  People will most likely want to eat their food at regular tables, not standing at cocktail tables. Set the tables like normal (minus the plates since they will be near the food). If people really want to eat standing at a cocktail table they will just claim a seat and grab the silverware.

  
  

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• doeydo member

  

  February 2014

  dancinrmm said:

  We are having a hor d'oeuvres buffet dinner for our reception, we are not doing a seating chart for our guests.

   

  I found a cute sign on pinterest encouraging guest to eat, drink, mingle, photobooth, etc while we are taking pictures. Should I still lay the silverwear and napkins on the tables, like a normal place setting (the plates will be on the buffet table), but guests will be able to sit down and eat or stand at one of our many cocktail tables we will have scattered throughout our venue. 

  
  

  I just don't want the tables to look boring/empty with only our table centerpieces.

  You're attending your own reception right?  Usually the B&G disappear after the ceremony for pictures and the guests have a cocktail hour, then the B&G come back and the reception starts.

  
  

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• RebeccaB88 member

  

  February 2014

  I like to see the table settings already set up at the tables. This looks more formal to me. I don't think you need the sign, people will be able to tell what to do. And the waitstaff can let people know the buffet is open if necessary.
  
  Every butt needs a seat. This should be non-negotiable. It is beyond rude to ask anyone to stand for dinner, for any reason. People will still mingle and chat. They will even be more likely to mingle if they know they will have a seat to return to later.  Otherwise people will 'claim' a seat and be glued to it the rest of the night.  And if you aren't doing assigned seating, then you should have about 15-20% more seating than you have guests, just to make sure that people will get to sit together, and no couple will have to split up because there's one seat left at each table. If you do the high-top tables, then have some high barstools there so no one will have to stand. And you might want to have some controls in place to make sure people like 90 year old Great Aunt Edna gets a seat at a regular table and doesn't have to climb up on a high chair.
  

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• Viczaesar member

  

  February 2014

  RebeccaB88 said:

  I like to see the table settings already set up at the tables. This looks more formal to me. I don't think you need the sign, people will be able to tell what to do. And the waitstaff can let people know the buffet is open if necessary.
  
  Every butt needs a seat. This should be non-negotiable. It is beyond rude to ask anyone to stand for dinner, for any reason. People will still mingle and chat. They will even be more likely to mingle if they know they will have a seat to return to later.  Otherwise people will 'claim' a seat and be glued to it the rest of the night.  And if you aren't doing assigned seating, then you should have about 15-20% more seating than you have guests, just to make sure that people will get to sit together, and no couple will have to split up because there's one seat left at each table. If you do the high-top tables, then have some high barstools there so no one will have to stand. And you might want to have some controls in place to make sure people like 90 year old Great Aunt Edna gets a seat at a regular table and doesn't have to climb up on a high chair.
  

  This.
  

  
  
  
  

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• BlueBirdMB member

  

  February 2014

  You definetely need a place setting at each seat.  Also, if you are having open seating, then you need more seats than people because people sit in odd groups.

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• indianaalum member

  

  February 2014

  When you say "  hor d'oeuvres buffet dinner". do you mean "hor d'oeuvres" and then a normal buffet dinner" or you just talking about how the "hor d'oeuvres" being set out like a buffet"
  

  
  

  So here is my question then.

  
  

  1) What time is your reception? If it is at a dinner time, you need to be able to feed them the equivalent of an entire meal. you know that, right?

  
  

  2) How long is your reception going to last? Because if it is the normal time frame, you might want to make sure you set out everything normally so people CAN have a normal seat to put all their belongings and so forth.

  
  

  3) This is a 'know your crowds" thing, BUT are you positive you don't want assigned seating??? I know the majority of us on here usually prefer it for many reasons, most of which is we don't want to feel glued to a seat all night out of fear someone will steal it, and we also don't want to sit awkwardly with people we don't know because it was the only seat left...please consider this

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