Photo By The Collective Photographers Jake & Necia
After being in the industry for so many years, we have seen a lot of different seating arrangements. Some arrangements work, others don’t, but either way the night always moves forward filled with love and happiness, and that is important to remember.
With that being said, we also understand how difficult and stressful it can be to place your loved ones in a way where everyone is happy and can mesh well with their neighbors during dinner, which is why we’ve created a short list of tips for seating your friends and family:
- Place the head table first! It’s important to know where the guests of honor will be sitting when taking into account where to place everyone else. The head table is typically a long banquet table, with the bride and groom in the middle, and the bridesmaids seated on one side, the groomsmen on the other. But don’t be afraid to switch it up! Intermix your bridal party or try out a sweetheart table for two!
- Next figure out how many guests you need to seat, which style of seating you want – long banquet tables, or round tables of 8 – and how many tables you’ll need. Then place your guests in a specific seat not just a table!
Our friends at TheKnot.com said it best:“If you’re having 50 guests to a buffet, you may or may not want to give people specific seating assignments. But if you’re having 100 guests or more and serving a seated meal, you’ll want to make sure everyone’s got a specific place to sit. Why? For one, people like to know where they’re sitting — and that you took the time to choose where and who they should sit with.”
- Sit families together, or sit similar aged friends together. Try your best to put people that have something in common in the same area. This will ease the conversation and often get the party goin’!
- DO NOT place your elderly guests next to the speakers! If you know ahead of time where your DJ will be setting up, try not to place the elderly, who may already have trouble hearing, next to a set of huge speakers! From an entertainment standpoint, we would rather have the speakers a little louder to ensure everyone can hear toasts and music, so try placing the younger party crowd by the speakers as they won’t be as affected by the volume.
***We suggest contacting your DJ when designing your seating arrangement. Chances are, (especially if you’re at a beautiful Central Coast Wedding Venue) the DJ will know the sound dynamics of your venue and can tell you where the speakers will likely be setup.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Ask your friends and family about anyone you are unsure about placing. Their input could definitely help your stress levels and who knows, they might have an idea that you hadn’t thought of!
- Lastly, don’t feel discouraged when people switch seats. With a crowd of 100+, it’s bound to happen somewhere, but it doesn’t mean all of your hard work went for nothing!