THE ART OF THE TABLE PLAN

Tables from three Aviva Events weddings. Photos © Steve Lyons, Images by Daniel Michael, Paul Ludwig

I’ve talked about why assigned seating is a good idea, and ways to designate seating, so now let’s get to one of the most dreaded parts of wedding planning: creating your seating/table plan. It’s a big undertaking (made bigger as your guest count grows!) but it doesn’t have to be stressful. Here are some tips to help you through it:

Start with your layout. You’ll get this from either your wedding planner or your venue coordinator. Don’t have either? Create one of your own using the dimensions of your event space and the tables you’ll be using (5′ rounds and 8′x30″ banquet tables are standard). Decide what will be the “head table” and number all other tables accordingly.

It is customary to seat the immediate families of the bride and groom at the tables closest to the head table. At the head table, you can have all of the members of the bridal party, or you can spread them throughout the room so that they may sit with their guests. Or, you can choose to forgo a head table entirely and have a “sweetheart table” which is a small table for two.

Assign couples and individuals to tables based on who knows each other and when that’s not a possibility, common interests. Seat grandparents and other elderly guests as far away from the band or DJ as possible. They’ll be forever appreciative! Similarly, seat your younger friends closer to the music and/or the bar.

If children are attending, consider setting up a “kids table” with extra activities to keep them occupied (the dollar store is the perfect place to find these items!). You might consider hiring a babysitter to help keep the kids busy and happy throughout the night.

Keep track of your guests’ seating assignments in an Excel sheet so that you can easily sort the list by guest’s name or by table number. Once your table plan is in place, make a list of how many seats should be at each table, and provide this list to your wedding planner, venue coordinator or catering manager so that the tables can be set up accordingly. And remember, your guests will only be in their designated seats for the relatively short period of dinner, so spending hours over the finer details is not worth the stress!