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Seating chart or no?

There are a lot of important things for you to consider as you dive in with both feet into wedding planning. One of the biggest issues at the reception is always going to be where people should sit. When there's a wedding reception going on, a seating chart is something that might say a lot about your wedding. It is important to think carefully about the pros and cons of a seating chart before you decide whether to have one, or to just let people sit where they might.

Important Folks

A seating chart does show each and every guest that they are important to you - important enough to have their own seat, that is. At weddings with no seating chart, families might have to rush around to find seats together, and some members of the family might not feel that they are able to sit close enough to the head table because someone else got their first. In order to alleviate any fighting over seats or a mad dash for the best ones, a seating chart can work wonders.

However, a seating chart can be a lot of work - and it can be hard to make sure that you've placed the great aunts all at the same level of closeness. If you do it wrong, you can actually lead to more of a feeling of not being important - imagine if a best friend of a cousin is accidentally sat at a table further back than the other cousins! To avoid the hassle and worry of a mad dash to the best seats - but also not have to worry about a seating chart, think about doing a partial seating chart. Have tables reserved for select family members, make sure that all of the grandparents are at the same table, and then let everyone else fight amongst themselves. The good news is that there are plenty of online resources that provide you with easy to use online seating charts and make the entire process a snap! Look into wedding website online resources as they can save lots of time and aggravation.

Fancy Formal

Often, a seating chart is used because it elevates the reception and makes it look and feel fancier. There's just something about walking into a room with tiny place tags and seeing that each person has a seat just for them. Again, though, this can be a lot of work (unless you use a good online resource). However, remember, someone's go to write up those place tags and put them in the right spots.

In order to get the fancy and formal look without the work of a seating chart, think about having fancy place tags that don't have people's names on them. Use a quote from a favorite love song, or something that is important to the both of you, and give everyone a fancy tag, no matter where they sit.

Keep Folks Together

A seating chart is also a way of keeping folks together. Think about your single friends, and how you'd hate for them to be stuck at the snobby married folks table - or think about how his baseball buddies won't mesh well with your fashion clients. Having a seating chart can help you create a better atmosphere at your reception, by making sure that the people who end up at the tables can have something to talk about and will have something in common. If you put all of your work associates at one table, and all of his crazy cousins at another, there is a better chance for harmony amongst each table.

However, remember that again this is hard to plan. What if the cousins bring dates at the last minute, or what if your coworkers don't always get along well together? Leaving off the seating chart might seem like chaos waiting to happen, but in reality, it can be a way for people to mix and mingle. Your husband to be's best football buddy might end up marrying your sweet cousin, only because they end up sitting next to each other! Think about the way that it might work out, if you leave your guests to their own devices. It just might be the best for you.

Seating Chart Must Haves

There are some times in which a seating chart is an absolute must. If you or your new spouse have families that don't get along - either because of divorces or other reasons - or have big families that will all insist on sitting together and might get their feelings hurt if they don't all have the same table - the added work of a seating chart might lead to better feelings all around and might end up worth it. If you know that feelings will be hurt unless you assign seats, or if you know that the people you are inviting will make a mess out of a seating free for all, you might want to seriously consider taking the time to do a seating chart.

In the end, the decision of whether or not to do a seating chart should be something that you and your spouse-to-be decide on together.