Ever thought about how much time it takes to create a seating arrangement for a wedding ceremony? It may take longer than you think, especially depending on the amount of guests attending as well as the venue layout. There are many factors to deciding a seating arrangement that makes the task difficult and tedious, but when done correctly, your guests may have a more memorable time because of it! Here are some ways one can make this assignment less stressful and more enjoyable:
Determining the layout and capacity limit of your wedding venue will be your first duty in this process since it is the most important information you will need. This will allow you to create an accurate list of wedding attendees and figure out how to organize these guests. Inviting too many people will cause overcrowding and cause guests to feel uncomfortable, as well as awkward seating placement in a venue can confuse and give off an unorganized look. With tight budgets and capacity limitations, people will be understanding if one decides to host a smaller reception.
Now that you have your guest list perfected, it’s time to decide where guests will be seated and which parties will be grouped. This may be the toughest part of the process, however, it won’t be the end of the world if you don’t get every table correct. Figuring out who is closest to you and your partner outside of the wedding party will determine its table – done! In terms of mixing family members on both sides, we suggest evenly dividing tables between respective families so guests are familiar with their tablemates. This also helps wedding photographers and videographers when shooting content in terms of keeping family and friend groups together for photos and video (families may not want someone unfamiliar to them in their media).
What about the solo guests? Or the solo family members? Or the distant couple of friends you promised to invite to your wedding? They need attention too! In this case, you must use your best judgment to determine who may get along the best with each other. You can look at this from multiple angles; age demographics, personal interests, and overall personality traits. You may not want to seat two people who are prone to getting into arguments – yikes! Placing the solo friend in a table of family members may also cause some awkwardness, but if that friend is a social butterfly they may learn some fun facts about you as a child- fun!
Speaking of children – if there are more than 10 guests that are under the age of 10, dedicate a table for those kids. We all know toddlers can be a handful, especially on an important occasion such as a wedding where so many things can go wrong. One way to alleviate that stress would be to create a kid’s table and dedicate a few volunteers to supervise the children during the dinner portion of the reception. That way parents can enjoy themselves, the children will have other children to communicate with, and any chaos that may come about will be secluded to the specific table and can be handled quickly. Photographers and videographers can also entertain the kids with their fun photoshoot ideas throughout the evening so the little ones will be occupied.
Don’t be afraid to have a little fun with setting up seating arrangements – creating a creative way for guests to find their table can be a way for family and friends to get comfortable with each other. Maybe everyone gets a Polaroid picture taken that they can keep for memories! The possibilities are endless when it comes to fun wedding activities.
Planning on having a fun ceremony? Don’t forget to film the moment! Check out our previous work and contact us for all your wedding photographer and videography needs.
