Why do you need a seating plan?
- • All guests will be sure that no one will take their place: married couples or groups of good friends will sit together, even if one of them is a little late for the start of the banquet.
- • Agree, it’s not very fun to be at a banquet at the same table with people you see for the first time in your life. Or, being a friend of the newlyweds, sit at the table with friends of the groom's parents. Thoughtful seating allows you to avoid such situations.
- • If among your guests there are vegetarians, allergy sufferers or other people for whom a separate menu is provided, seating cards on the tables will help the waiters not to mix up the dishes.
- • A seating chart placed at the entrance to the banquet area will avoid unnecessary fuss and chaos and will help guests take their seats as quickly as possible.
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Photo by: Nastya Podoprigora | Wedding of Anya and Tyoma
Who makes the plan?
Developing an optimal seating plan is a task directly for the bride and groom; it cannot be placed on the shoulders of the wedding planner or bridesmaids, because in order to take into account all the interests of the guests, you need to know them well.
You can agree with the groom that everyone will create a seating arrangement for the guests on their part, or think through a layout together. As a last resort, if many distant relatives or family friends are invited to the wedding, it would be appropriate to ask your parents to help you.
When drawing up a seating plan, you can ask the guests themselves, but this should be the exception only for the most important invitees (parents and grandparents), and not the rule for everyone. Otherwise, you will simply get confused in the endless wishes of the guests, and in the end someone will still be dissatisfied.
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Author of the photo: Pavlova Elena | Wedding of Vladimir and Nadezhda
Little tricks to help
The fun and popular game “Take a seat on a chair” should be in the middle of the entertainment program, and not at the beginning of the celebration. Therefore, the newlyweds are obliged to think about where each guest will sit.
It’s impossible to remember who sits where. Therefore, there are some programs that allow you to perform simple tasks. To do this, just download them from the Internet and fill in the empty fields.
The planner will be a great way to quickly distribute everyone’s plantings. It contains 3 elements:
– seating chart;
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– list of invitees;
– a notepad for notes.
First, enter the guest details. Each person is written on a separate line.
The chart automatically switches to a second tab, allowing you to “sort” friends and relatives as you wish.
When to make a seating plan?
Since the seating plan directly depends on the number of guests, it is drawn up last - after invitations have been sent and accurate answers have been received as to whether a particular guest will be present at the wedding. You should also obtain a plan of the banquet hall from the site manager, which will indicate the number of tables, their location, the number of seats at each table, etc.
Ideally, a seating plan should be prepared 4 weeks before the date of the celebration, so be sure to warn guests that you need their response as soon as possible. The more guests, the more difficult it is to meet deadlines, so set yourself a deadline a week before the wedding: if by this time you have not received a response from the guest, make a seating plan without him.
But in case of all sorts of force majeure, it is still worth providing several additional places for guests who agreed at the last minute.
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Photo by: Nastya Podoprigora | Wedding of Maria and Jemal
How to make a seating plan?
As you create your seating chart, you'll likely have to regroup your guests and think through several possible configurations. The optimal solution would be to create a visual seating layout.
If you do not know special computer programs, make it out of paper: cut out tables and chairs and prepare cards with the names of the guests. Make the layout in accordance with the scale in order to see the real picture: will the guests be cramped at one table, will there be enough space for them to move freely around the room, etc.
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Photo by: Konstantin Semenikhin | Wedding of Maria and Anton
Wedding seating plan
The card is a stand with the names of the guests, their serial number and a number with a specific table. The layout of the tables in the hall will look great. Cards with the table number and friends' names should be placed on the tables. This method allows you to seat all invitees in their seats in a short time.
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To avoid a crowd around the map at one moment, it is advisable to make a copy of it and distribute it around the hall.
A good alternative for quick and fun seating is a special organizer who will manage the list and lead you to the right place.
An alphabetical list is a great idea. Everyone will be able to quickly find themselves and go to their assigned table.
The design can be a small floor plan. Guests, seeing it, can easily figure out where the table with their number is and which chair is intended for them.
Note to future newlyweds
Where to begin?
First of all, determine the general type of seating. With the European, the most common type of seating, several round tables with 8-10 seats are set - and if the area allows, arrange the seating in such a way that the guests do not sit with their backs to you.
Another popular option is U-shaped seating or seating around several rectangular tables. This option allows you to show your imagination in decor and serving (for example, make garlands of greenery and flowers along the entire table), but it is very important to seat guests so that they can freely communicate with each other, and avoid dividing into two “camps” when On one side are guests from the groom’s side, and on the other side are guests from the bride’s side.
At small weddings, one common table is increasingly being served for all guests - it is cozy, family-like and looks very stylish. It is important to allocate seats for the bride and groom, as well as seats for parents and elderly guests.
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Photo by: Anna&Alex | Wedding of Kostya and Yulia
Making a list of guests for the wedding
You are here: Home > Articles > He and She > Wedding Planner
October 9, 2014 | views: 3,183
How to create a wedding guest list and stay on budget? You can go in two ways: classic, when guests for the wedding are counted before the scale of the disaster is determined, and innovative - when the establishment where the holiday will be held is selected, the budget is determined, and the list of guests for the wedding is adjusted to this framework. Of course, you don’t want to offend anyone, and if money is really bad, then it’s easier to completely look at options for a wedding together, without guests. This format is in high esteem today precisely because of its budget and luxury for less money. It’s better to have a ceremony on the beach or in a Balinese temple than in a dining room with a hundred relatives. But, if you can’t get away from your relatives, let’s see how to correctly create a wedding guest list.
Guest list, tip one
Among the guests at the wedding are relatives, there are friends of the bride and groom, and there are family friends. The first part of the list is mandatory, since relatives are the most important element of a wedding celebration as a family ritual. Even if they live in a neighboring city, an invitation must be sent.
As for friends, you need to invite the closest and dearest people first, and then based on the principle of who the money will be left for. Friends will not be offended, they will understand. As for family friends, it is not at all necessary to fulfill this point, unless, of course, these are the closest people who have known you since childhood and perceive you as a family member.
The presence of the godparents of the bride and groom at the wedding is also mandatory - this is not even discussed, this is the law of etiquette.
How to make a wedding guest list, tip two
It is worth remembering that all married people in a civil partnership, as well as engaged people meeting in the context of a serious relationship, are invited together. Even if you are friends with only one of the spouses and do not know his (her) other half, the invitation is sent for two.
How to make a wedding guest list, tip three
The custom of inviting wedding generals has sunk into oblivion, so inviting a person only for reasons of his status is no longer fashionable and unnecessary. Moreover, you cannot invite someone simply out of pure politeness, although it is perfectly clear that the newlyweds do not feel much joy from this invitation. This also applies to work colleagues with whom close relationships begin and end in the office. If you are not friends after work, inviting them to the wedding is completely irrelevant.
Wedding guest list, tip four
All ex-boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives are invited to the wedding only in one case - if they are friends of both newlyweds. In all other cases - revenge, demonstration, hurt, etc. - a wedding is not the best event for clarifying a broken relationship. Wedding guests should be happy for the bride and groom, not gritting their teeth in resentment and not planning to pour tomato sauce on both of them right before the camera flashes.
Wedding guest list, tip five
By default, all guests are invited to the full range of wedding events - registration, wedding (if planned), banquet and walk.
If for some reason you want to separate those who are present at one of the ceremonies, the wedding guests should certainly communicate this wish in advance.
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Seating arrangement for important guests
After you determine the type of seating and your seats at the banquet, it's time to move on to seating the most important guests at the wedding - the parents of the bride and groom. It is advisable to seat them at one common table, because a wedding is a symbol of the unity of two families, and your parents should get to know and communicate with each other.
Your closest friends can be seated at the same table with the newlyweds, but if you have more than 4-5 bridesmaids at your wedding and you don’t want to offend anyone, it’s better to seat them at a separate table with the groom’s friends.
Don't forget about grandparents - they should also be allocated a place not far from the main characters of the holiday. However, do not seat them near the sound system or along the aisle so that they do not have to get up every time to let other guests pass. It is best if older guests sit with relatives or people they know well and with whom they feel most comfortable.
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Photo by: Malvina Frolova | Wedding of Gennady and Yulia
Tips for seating guests at a wedding
The first step in allocating seating for guests is to choose a layout for the tables. Then draw up the guest list and preliminary touches. In order not to spend days and nights seating friends and relatives, you can listen to the advice of professionals:
- Relatives must be seated at the same table depending on their relationship. Older people at one table, young people at another.
- It is important to ensure that all guests can clearly see the newlyweds. You shouldn’t put everyone together; it’s better to put additional tables for a better overview.
- It is advisable to place the closest relatives closer to the young.
- As a rule, married people should be seated opposite each other, but more often couples prefer to sit next to each other.
- For harmony, the seating of guests is alternating between women and men... According to etiquette, the man sits to the left of the lady.
- If the newlyweds have invited divorced friends, it is important to prevent them from joining adjacent tables.
- Friends without a couple should be placed with similar singles, but not in the circle of married couples.
- The golden rule of a wedding is that there should be a cheerful person and ringleader at each table. There is no need to gather them at one table, otherwise there will be a “quiet tea party” at another.
- So that after a fun event the newlyweds have a common noisy company, the groom’s friends and colleagues can be seated next to the bride’s employees and girlfriends.
- High-ranking guests are important in any celebration. To show their importance, it is important to try to seat them closer to the newlyweds, but not with their parents.
- A separate table is provided for children, with the condition that they are old enough to eat without the help of their parents.
- It is important to seat foreign guests with people who know and can speak the same language.
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The photo shows current options for the distribution of guests at festive tables.
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Other guests
The main task of the couple when drawing up a seating chart is to create conditions for comfortable communication for all guests. Therefore, it is very important to take into account many different factors, such as relationship, age and even personal likes/dislikes of the invitees. If among your guests there are people who are in conflict with each other, be sure to seat them at different tables.
Group guests by relationship or interests. Your work colleagues may be people of completely different ages, but most likely they will be comfortable together, because they have known each other for a long time. At the same time, do not be afraid to seat guests from the bride and groom at the same table - on the contrary, let the guests get to know each other, because now all your friends will be common.
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Author of the photo: Andrey Baida | Wedding of Nikolai and Tatiana
Additional Tips
- • If there will be guests at the wedding who do not know anyone other than the newlyweds, allow them to bring a couple with them to make them feel more comfortable.
- • If at the table one half of the guests does not know the other half of the guests, but at the same time they are all the same age and can find common topics for conversation - this is good. If a group of close friends and another person who did not know them before is sitting at the table, this is bad.
- • Do not place a guest who comes alone at a table with married couples.
- • Children under 10 years of age must sit next to their parents. And if there are a lot of children and they are all about the same age, prepare a separate children’s table for them and invite a nanny or an animator who will make sure that the little guests have fun at your holiday.
- • Guests with reduced mobility require special attention. In this situation, the optimal solution would be to personally ask the guest his wishes regarding his place at the table.
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Photo by: Vladlen Abdullin | Wedding of Dasha and Irakli
