Did you know that a wedding reception seating arrangement chart could take weeks and even months to perfect? On top of being time-consuming, it is usually impossible to please all your guests. It is not always possible to seat everyone with his or her favorite people so there has to be a way to compromise. Below are some tips to make your planning stress-free.
Start as Early as Possible
As soon as you receive the bulk of your RSVPs, you should start working on the table-seating chart for the wedding reception. We cannot stress enough how important it is to take your time arranging your guests in a cohesive manner. Many couples have made the mistake of trying to get this done the night before the wedding, which just leads to unnecessary stress.
Make Sure You Are Clear About Numbers
The best way to start your wedding reception-seating chart is to decide how many people will sit on a table. You have to take into account the table shapes and their capacity. You can then start a rough draft of guest placements. You can put this into a new spreadsheet or use free wedding seating chart templates.
Prioritize Your Placements
Different families have varying dynamics and you should make sure that you are respecting them when you are coming up with your seating placements. If you have divorced parents, it may be a good idea to keep them on separate tables. Quarreling uncles and aunts are also best kept on opposite sides of the wedding venue. Once you have placed the important people on their tables then you can fill in the blanks with people they are going to get along with, so there are no arguments or uncomfortable situations, you will have to deal it.
Keep Your Wedding Venue in Mind
Now that you have assigned all your guests to a specific table, you can then decide on the table arrangement. Quests that are important should have a clear view. It may be a good idea to place them close to the bride and groom’s table or close to the dance floor. Guests that have special needs such as those in wheelchairs and the elderly can be put in a central place where they can easily move around.