HOW TO CREATE YOU
SEATTING ARRANGEMENT

Here are a few tips to create your wedding seating arrangement

No need to do it month in advance. Several steps are essentials before starting thinking about it.

SAVE THE DATE

As soon as your begin your wedding planning, you can start by sending a save the date. It is usually informal and only gives few informations : your names and the date of the wedding.

It can take the form of an e-mail or be sent in a paper version. It can be cool to match it up with your wedding invitations that will be sent later, but it is also very trendy to mismatch the save the date in another style.

Its function is to inform your guests of your wedding and let them take note of the date, in order for them to book it in their diary. As soon as you send it, you can begin planning your wedding.

WEDDING INVITATIONS

Once the organisation is nearly over, you can start thinking about your wedding invitations. They usually are sent 3 month before the wedding. Contrary to the save the date, they contain more informations such as, the timetable, the daily schedule, the city hall address if it is on the same day, the location and address of the ceremony and finally the address of the venue.

Don't forget to add a carton for those who will be invited to the next day brunch, as well as an RSVP, allowing your guests to send their reply by post... You can also ask them to directly answer buy e-mail, but make sure you add the e-mail address on your invitation.

It is recommended to ask for a reply 1 month before the wedding at the latest, in order to have a better idea of the number of guests, allowing you to communicate this number to the wedding planner and the caterer.

TABLE SETUP

Once you know the final number of guests attending your wedding, you can start thinking about the table setup in the reception room. It will depend on several elements such as the furniture available on the wedding venue, but most of all the style of your wedding.

For a countryside chic wedding, a bohemian wedding, or an industrial style wedding, choose rectangular tables arranged in long rows. This format better suit this kind of weddings.

Create between 2 and 3 rows depending on the available space, keeping in mind a rectangular table can host up to 8 people, 4 on each side. To find the number of tables needed, simply divide the number of people by 8. Then divide this number by the number of rows you would like and that will give you the number of tables per row.

Think about leaving a space of at least 1 meter for the tables on the outside and a space of at least 1,5 meter between each row. This will enable to leave enough space for the caterer's staff and for your guests.

For a romantic wedding, or a more traditional wedding, go with round tables. You have several diameters of tables, hosting between 8 and 10 people. Ask you wedding venue to know which type of tables they offer.

SEATING ARRANGEMENT

Regarding the seating arrangement, you have 2 options : a free positioning where your guests seat wherever they want, or a traditional asign positioning. Once again, it depend on the style and spirit you want to give to your wedding. Tables can be differenciated using numbers or names... it's up to you !

When earing family stories and the stress of couple just thinking about having to start this hard task, I am happy not having to deal with it. As a wedding planner my job is nevertheless to give the best advices to the future bride and groom in order to facilitate everything. Here is the advantage of hiring a wedding planner for the planning of your wedding !

But do not worry, its is not complicated... just a little bit crazy when you want everyone at the same table, or when you have to separate two divorced parents who don't get along anymore, but we always find a way.

You can gather your guests by age, or gather those who have the same interests. Don't put a guest on a table where he doesn't know anyone, or a foreigner on a table where no one speak his language.

Think about creating tables where you know your guests will have a good time. Also don't forget the kids table. It can be set up in a separate room depending on the venue.

Here we go, you have all the informations needed to start creating your seating arrangement.