5 Tips for Setting the Table at a Wedding Reception

It's no secret that food and festivities are the central components of an exciting and enjoyable wedding celebration. The feast is a crucial time during which toasts are given and the friends and relatives of the bride and groom socialize and become acquainted with one another. Plus, after so much emotion and a long marriage ceremony, everyone seems to work up an appetite. However, simply eating a regular meal or BBQ on a wedding day is usually not the ideal scenario for most couples, as you'll probably want the meal to match the extravagance of the event. With that said, here are five tips for improving wedding table settings: 

1. Set Custom Glasses

Using regular cups at a wedding reception is fine, but if you want to go the extra mile with your setup, why not use custom wedding pint glasses with fancy inscriptions and designs? That way you can have special or funny messages placed on the cups of key guests at the wedding and then place those cups at the guests' designated seating spots.

2. Practice Proper Utensil Alignment and Positioning

Most guests won't be familiar with the “proper” way to set a table at a wedding, but some will. Even if none of them expect the utensils to be perfectly aligned, if your goal is to set the table in beautiful traditional fashion, you'll want to follow a specific guide on reception table setting. That way you'll become familiar with all of the components and their ideal positions and placements.

3. Provide Easy to Access Snacks and Sides at the Table

One way you can keep people from having to get up and sit back down frequently is to have snacks, sides, beverages, and other refreshments already positioned along the table. This is another benefit of using long and wide tables versus the smaller circular kind. Of course, ideally you'll have a variety of table sizes within your final configuration of the feast room.

4. Have Several Rolling Carts Nearby

Another way to make the meal more convenient is to have several rolling carts for delivering food and picking up used dishes. This certainly beats the alternative of having the waiters and bussers carrying everything one trip at a time, which is important if you're going to be delegating these tasks to guests who’ve volunteered for the task, as you don't want to be working them too hard unnecessary.

5. Use Long and Wide Tables

Big tables keep the guests centralized within large groups, which minimizes separation and makes it easier to deliver additional food and beverages to the table. Although this tip is certainly optional, and you may want to have a few smaller circular auxiliary tables for certain guests who'd rather sit at a smaller table. This could be a question that you ask when issuing the invitation - “would you prefer to sit at the large table or one of the smaller circle tables at the reception.

Is the Table Setting Really Important?

In closing, setting the table at the wedding reception doesn't have to be an incredibly difficult process, nor is it really as tedious as it seems. Once you've set a few seats it becomes as simple as clockwork, and it should only take a couple hours to prepare a room that will accommodate a feast for hundreds of guests.