Weddingbee Blog

When it came time to think about our seating arrangement for the reception, I had some pretty firm ideas.

I knew I wanted to forgo the traditional head table, as I’d like for our bridal party to be able to sit with their dates. The sweetheart table has become extremely popular option lately. While I think it’s a lovely way to spend some alone time with your new spouse, I also feel that they can make the bride and groom slightly unapproachable (which some people probably want during dinner!). I also knew that some couples choose to sit with their parents and/or grandparents at the reception, an idea that I really liked.

And so our Family Table was born.

Seated together during dinner will be Burger and myself, my parents, his parents, Cheeseburger SisterMOH & date, Cheeseburger Brother & date, Burger Brother (Best Man) & date, Burger Sister & date, my grandparents (3 of them) and his grandparents (3 also), or a grand total of 20 people! I know it’s going to be quite a large table, but being surrounded by those we love the most is so important to us, that we couldn’t pass this idea up!

Our reception will be mostly round tables at the request of Cheeseburger Mom, as she feels that they allow for the best interactions among guests. However, 20 people at a round table wasn’t going to happen, so I have one lovely long table that I get to decorate!

After seeing this spread in MSW, I was in love. I even included it in my original inspiration board - I was that sure I had to have something like it on our big day.

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(BTW, anyone know where I can get yummy purple pillars on the cheap?)

I mean, it’s perfect. I love the colors, love the flowers, love the chairs. I love everything about it! While I can’t replicate it exactly (that’s a LOT of flowers & our colors are slightly different), I’m trying to get it as close as I can.

We will have the same ivory linens and eggplant overlays as the round tables:

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While shopping at Burlington one day, I found 5 foot table runners in a gorgeous sage color for $4.99 each. I grabbed 6 of them, knowing that our table would be pretty long and that I wanted runners to hang off the edges a bit. I sewed the runners together end to end (also causing them to lose some length), leaving 5 barely-noticeable seams:

I also tried to find affordable pillar candle holders, but in the end I just bought some wood candle holders ($0.49 - 2.49 each) from craft stores and spray painted them silver:

I also grabbed 8 of these purple bud vases from Walmart ($1.00 each), which I plan to fill with a few roses each and stagger in between the candles:

Here’s a makeshift set-up at my parents’ house. Obviously the table will be much longer and the candles will be much more spread out, but try to use your imagination.

What kind of seating arrangement are you and your SO using at your wedding?