{"id":10857,"date":"2013-02-12T07:31:54","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T14:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/?p=10857"},"modified":"2015-05-27T11:35:47","modified_gmt":"2015-05-27T17:35:47","slug":"what-are-the-rules-for-wedding-reception-seating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/what-are-the-rules-for-wedding-reception-seating\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the “Rules” for Wedding Reception Seating?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estate<\/a>\"Stylish<\/a>You\u2019ve set the date, picked out your colors, ordered your flowers, and managed to talk your fiance out of reuniting his old Twisted-Sister-meets-the-Backstreet-Boys cover band from high school to play the reception. Crisis averted! Now comes the real challenge: Creating a wedding reception seating plan that works\u2026 for everybody.<\/p>\n

Family dynamics can be — shall we say \u2013 a bit complicated. Maybe you can\u2019t seat Aunt Nancy within dirty-look range of her ex-husband Bob and his brand-new wife, or maybe your fiance\u2019s sisters — who haven\u2019t spoken since 1992 — need to be seated on opposite sides of the room. Or perhaps you just want your wedding reception to run as smoothly and enjoyably as humanly possible.\"Seashore<\/a><\/p>\n

Either way, a bit of planning combined with the right tools will make all the difference. For a stress-free wedding reception, consider these simple tips.<\/p>\n

Keepin\u2019 it Real… Formal<\/strong><\/p>\n

We know, we know, you\u2019re a free spirit who doesn\u2019t like rules and hates being micromanaged. But unless you want the next episode of \u201cAs the World Turns\u201d taking place at your reception, you\u2019re going to need a formal seating chart.<\/p>\n

\"Stylish<\/a>It\u2019s really not as difficult as it sounds, either. Simply create a spreadsheet of all the yes-RSVP invitees and then organize them by relationship: bride\u2019s friend, groom\u2019s family, bride’s family, and so on. Highlight your more \u201csensitive\u201d guests by color. For instance, if Nancy can\u2019t sit by Bob, highlight their names in the same shade. That\u2019ll make them stand out — so you\u2019ll be sure to seat them far, far apart.<\/p>\n

Draw it Out<\/strong><\/p>\n

Draw a map of the room \u2013 tables included — and assign each table a number. Use your spreadsheet to create groups of guests for each table. Mix it up by grouping those who know each other together, placing singles with other singles, and quieter guests with more gregarious invitees.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, the bride and groom sit at the front or most central table, surrounded by their wedding party. However, if you\u2019ve got guests who’ll feel like they\u2019ve been banished to Siberia if they\u2019re not at a central table, make every table more special by spreading the wedding party out across around the room.<\/p>\n

When you have a rough outline, write each guest\u2019s name on a\u00a0post-it note. Stick the notes, organized by table, onto the room map. You\u2019ll probably have some tweaking to do as late RSVPs trickle in, so keep your chart handy.<\/p>\n

Simplicity + Planning = Reception Serenity\"Dancing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that you\u2019ve created your seating chart, make it easy for guests \u2013 and wait staff, if you have them \u2013 to find their seats.\u00a0Individual place cards<\/a>\u00a0add a sophisticated, personal touch at each place setting, while\u00a0customized table tents<\/a>\u00a0feature a list of each table\u2019s guests. Both can be customized to complement your wedding colors and theme.<\/p>\n

Be ready for the unexpected; some guests may no-show, while others might arrive without bothering to RSVP at all. Keep some space open just in case.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, don’t wait until the last minute to create your wedding reception seating plan. Just a bit of planning leads to a smooth, stress-free event that all will enjoy.<\/p>\n

For more fun, simple ideas to make your wedding even more amazing, check out our Paper Direct Blog. From beautiful\u00a0DIY wedding invitations\u00a0<\/a>to\u00a0thoughtfully worded thank you cards<\/a>, we\u2019ll help make that special day unforgettable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve set the date, picked out your colors, ordered your flowers, and managed to talk your fiance out of reuniting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wedding-accessories"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14929,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10857\/revisions\/14929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}