attacking your seating plan

taken from www.wedbykez.com

In a perfect world all the guests at your wedding would get along enough to be able to be seated next to each other for an entire meal. In this perfect world you would easily drop those unwanted kilos just minutes before trying on your dream dress, and would not be overcharged when you mention purchasing anything for a wedding.

Oh, if only life were so perfect.

Truth is, organising your seating plan might be as pleasant as having teeth pulled. So are some idea's to help you seat the unseatable with tears and tantrums.

Think Laterally

Write down each guest on a small piece of paper and place in a bowl. Using a whiteboard or piece of cardboard with your table layout pull out each guests and place them in order on your board. Who's knows! You may win the seating lottery and end up with a perfect seating plan.

Opposing Factions

Treat your guest list like waring countries. Separate the opposing factions into two piles (A and B) then place the remaining guests in a 3rd pile (C). Place A on one side of the room, B as far away on the other side of the room and C become Switzerland - lovely and neutral in the middle.

Mix It Up

Seperate your guests into Bride and Groom invites then further divide into immediate family, family and friends. Starting with immediate family pull the top two from the Brides side and place on a table. Place next to them the top two from the Grooms list of immediate family then continue in turns until all guests are placed. You should end up with a nicely mixed bunch at each table

Forget the Numbers

Don't let the amount of seats per table rule your plan. If you can seat a perfect group of 8 at a table of 10 - do it! It is better to have good table karma then shove an extra two guests on a table because there would be empty seats.

Be Flexible and Patient

Be prepared to start over if things aren't working out or attack it again on another day. Fresh eyes, and mind might mean a solution appears out of nowhere.

Word and Excel are your friends - use them. If your not computer literate, have some fun and cut up photos of all your guests then pin them to your room layout. Having a visual reference for your guests might help you get a feel for how the table dynamics will be.

Good luck with you planning.

If you have any suggestions or tips on seating plans - please feel free to leave them here.