Weddingbee Blog

Now that we have a firm hold of our guest numbers, our next step is to tackle the seating arrangements. We’ve had a somewhat unique wedding setup from the get-go because our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all take place in the same room. Long story short, a misunderstanding occurred where I was under the impression that our room could be “flipped” during the cocktail hour. I was gravely mistaken and learned fairly late in the game that our venue has a regulation where decor items must be in place and ready to go prior to the start of the ceremony. This means tables, chairs, centerpieces–the whole nine yards. That enlightening phone call left my palms clammy and the games began to work within the boundaries of our venue.

There’s something timeless and elegant about classic rounds. Case and point:

Photo by chocostudio (10 points if you recognize whose venue this is!)

And, here’s an example of how they would look in our venue *drool*:

Photo by Arising Images

So long as the centerpieces are of the right height, rounds allow for easy cross-table conversation in addition to chats with the people seated next to you. Plus, there’s no shortage of gorgeous linens to spruce up the tables! However, I couldn’t wrap my head around having scattered round tables throughout the room due to the lack of a defined aisle for the ceremony. Having an aisle was the one element throughout this whole wedding planning process that I found myself refusing to compromise on–even slightly. Everyone says to pick and choose your battles, and I went into this one with my fists swingin’.

An alternative was presented where our tables could be scooted to the sides and back of the room during the ceremony and then moved into place for the cocktail hour and reception. Because every single wedding I had seen up till this point in this room used traditional rounds, I accepted this layout and all was well. That is, until I came across this photo:

Photo by West Park Photography / Design by Dooby Design and Lucia|Paul Design

Something clicked, and I knew this was how I wanted our room to be laid out. Not only did the long tables create a natural aisle, but it seemed like a geometrically logical way to maximize space while simultaneously adding an unexpected twist to our set-up. Might a handful of our guests be utterly confused by this unconventional design? Probably. But, these are the same people who are going to be perplexed anyhow by the presence of tables during the ceremony. The gears started cranking, and photos like these quickly permeated my inspiration folders:

Image via The Wedding Chicks / Photo by Boutwell Studio

Image via Mrs. Hamster / Photo by Erica Lyn

Image via Mrs. Turtle / Photo by Mike Larson Inc.

Image via Once Wed / Photo by Jonas Peterson

Our venue coordinator was very accommodating to our (OK, to be fair on this one it was definitely my) changed vision, although she had reservations about whether or not there would be enough room to set up the ceremony with two chairs flanking each side of the aisle (see photo below if this explanation didn’t make any sense). Color me picky, but I wasn’t content with the idea of our guests sitting at the tables during the ceremony, either. Anyhoo, during our menu tasting we had an in-depth discussion about the layout of the room:

BM Tanya working her magic negotiating skills while I hid behind the camera

At the time we had no measuring tape with us to mark up the space, and our venue coordinator really needed some convincing that we could make it work. The solution?

“I am exactly five feet.”

Our venue is 28 feet wide, and we calculated the space needed on each side for a table and two chairs to be a generous 2.25 Tanyas, which is equal to 11.25 feet. That gives us a 5.5 foot aisle (the width of the double doors you can see in some of the photos under the EXIT sign). Using a stand-in for my Dad (thanks, Jason!) it ended up being enough room for us to walk down without bumping into our guests on either side. We’re certainly not swimming in extra space, but I get to have an aisle and folks (hopefully) aren’t distracted by items on the table during the ceremony.

We’ve taken into consideration the concern that with this seating style, guests seated at the ends may end up feeling a bit marooned. We’re hoping to avoid that problem by placing select people in these locations: either those that may not feel comfortable sandwiched in between people, or those who may end up meandering around during the reception anyhow. Also, our room is only 53 feet long, so we don’t have to worry about guests seated in the center having trouble accessing key locations in the room (e.g. the bar and the dance floor). As for Mr. Tartlet and myself? We’ll be seated at a separate sweetheart table a la Mrs. Perfume:

Image via Mrs. Perfume / Photo by Jackson Photography

How did you decide on your seating style for the reception? Up next: a free-for-all, or assigned seating? If you haven’t read it already, check out Miss Bacon’s super helpful post weighing the pros and cons of some different types of seating!