Yours Truly Media Provides a Guide to Creating a Seating Chart
So, you’ve narrowed down your guest list and sent your invitations, now what? Well, as the RSVPs start flooding in, the next step is to create your seating chart. Although this might not seem like a difficult task, things can get a bit tricky when you realize you’re going to have to split up your work friends or aren’t sure whether to have a head table or a sweetheart table.
Luckily, Yours Truly Media, a premier wedding photography and videography company in Costa Mesa, California, has a lot of experience in this arena. They provide their top 4 tips for creating a seating chart for your wedding, here they are:
Get Organized
First thing’s first, get organized. Yours Truly Media recommends creating a detailed spreadsheet with a list of each and every guest who will be attending your wedding. Once all the names are listed, start categorizing.
Common categories include your friends, your family, your family friends, and then your partner’s friends, your partner’s family, and your partner’s family friends. When each guest is sorted into a particular category, it will be much easier to start assigning them to tables.
The beginning will be easy as you can plan to seat friends that know each other together. But once the easy work is out of the way, you’re going to need to consider which personalities will mesh. For example, your college friends may get along well with your high school friends but not your work friends.
Make a Decision About the Head Table
No matter what, the newlyweds are going to be the center of attention at the reception. But whether you choose to sit in the center of a long head table or on your own at a more intimate sweetheart table is entirely up to you.
The decision really is a matter of personal preference; however, sometimes one type of table might make things easier when it comes to your seating chart. For example, notes Yours Truly Media, depending on who is in your wedding party, seating your bridesmaids alongside you might prevent them from getting to spend the evening with their partners.
Alternatively, if their partners are also in the wedding party, it might be more fun to have everyone up at the front together.
Prioritize the Parents
Remember to carve out an important spot for both of your parents in the seating chart. Traditionally, both sets of parents, along with any grandparents and siblings, will all sit together near the happy couple.
However, if your parents are divorced or you have a large family, you may end up wanting to split up these tables.
Don’t Forget the Kids
If there are children invited to your wedding, be sure to include them in the seating chart. It’s easy to forget about the little ones, but just like adults, they need a seat!
It’s up to you whether you designate a children’s table or you choose to seat the children alongside their parents. This in part comes down to the age of the kids. If there are many children under the age of 8, they will likely need to sit near their parents as they require more supervision.
Older children will have an easier time sitting on their own. If you do end up creating a separate table, Yours Truly Media advises giving the kids crafts or other activities to keep busy throughout the reception.
Not only will the parents be grateful to you for having occupied their children, but the kids will be far less likely to disrupt important moments like speeches or the first dance.
For more tips on having kids at your wedding click here!
