How To Choose Reception Table Assignments | Wedding Planning Tips

As far as wedding planning tasks go, selecting table assignments for the reception can be one of the most daunting. There are a thousand ways to approach it - and the process can be steeped with emotions and opinions from just about everyone. The process can take a few forms, from hands-on, visual approaches, to spreadsheets. We have a few tips to help make the process feel a bit less cumbersome while ensuring a more positive guest experience as well!

Wait for the RSVPs

This is one of those wedding tasks that will be one of the last left to check off your to-do list. Martha Stewart Weddings recommends saving this task for about two weeks out from the big day. At this point, you will (hopefully) have all of your RSVPs in. With that, you'll also know who is bringing plus ones and should have a full guest count.

Having a clear idea of your guest count will inform how many tables you need, which depending on the venue, may also help determine what shape table you need as well. It will also let you know a rough guest count per table. From there, you can start to categorize your guests: friends, family, plus ones, kids, coworkers, etc. As you start to see these groupings, some of your seating assignments may become easily apparent!

Start With The Key Players

Whether you’re opting for a head table, a sweetheart table, or planning to have everyone integrated banquet style, it’s still best to begin with the most important people. Once you and your partner have your seats assigned you can build out from there. If you are opting into a sweetheart table, you will want to flank your table with your wedding party and key family members. If you are going for a traditional head table, the wedding party will fan out from there. Parents and anyone giving a speech should then be placed at the closest tables. Traditionally, a head table would leave wedding party members' dates needing seats, so it’s recommended to keep them nearby, though they don’t all need to be seated together.

With all of the key players and their plus ones sorted, you can begin diving into all of the other categories. Some groupings will be quite obvious and lend themselves perfectly to certain seating assignments. Those coming with children, flying solo, and/or those who don't know many people can be harder to place. Generally, it's recommended that children who are old enough to sit at a kids table do so (they'll keep each other entertained and allow their parents to have some fun!) in a less obvious or "high value" location. As much as you may want to play matchmaker, avoid creating a specific singles table. Instead, pepper folks without a plus one in at tables where they might be able to connect with and have a great time with others at the table.

Play With Options

If you’re using round tables, one hands-on way to make a seating plan is to use paper plates and paper clips. For square/rectangle, round, or even dramatic serpentine (hello, gorgeous!) tables, it can be helpful to use sticky notes and a poster board. Another easy (non-committal) way to test different options is to buy a white board and color coded markers to map out your seating plan. Using your prop of choice like game pieces and moving them around a physical representation of your tables can be a perfect way to envision who will go where. If you're having trouble picking exact spots for your guests, simply assinging tables versus specific seats can be one way to lighten the workload of the project.

Once you are happy with your seating chart, it's time to hand it off to your wedding day team so you don't have to think about it anymore! But, before you hand off all of your hard work to your planners and/or caterers, we recommend adding it to a layout in Adobe or similar software. This will help avoid any hiccups that might happen if you hand off any of your analog work. Your caterer and planner can then work in tandem with your venue to ensure your vision is execute with precision.