Seating is really about who sits with whom
A guest spends two hours with exactly the people beside them. What decides whether the evening feels warm or long is not the food, it is who else is at the table. So group people who already know each other — school friends, the same office, one branch of the family — and only then work out how many tables each group needs.
The order that works
- Settle the guest list and how many people come with each name. Skip this and you will seat everyone twice.
- Ask the venue how many seats a table has and how many tables the room holds.
- Build the family table first: both sets of parents, grandparents, the eldest relatives.
- Place the large groups near the stage or near the door, depending on who they are.
- Leave one table spare for late additions, then print the chart and send it to the venue a few days ahead.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Filling every seat exactly. Someone always brings a relative without warning.
- Seating the eldest guests beside a speaker or against the stage. Wedding music is louder than you think.
- Merging two groups who do not know each other just to fill a table. Better to leave a seat or two empty.
- Forgetting a table for the photographers, the video crew and the host.
- Keeping the chart only on your phone. Print a copy for whoever greets guests at the door.