I’ve slowly been getting over that hump that stopped me in my tracks, mostly because Cinnamon Buns sat down and started doing the ‘set design’ for our wedding. We have a CAD drawing of our space, and Cinnamon Buns has the know-how (and the computer program) to do it all digitally! This is what the reception half of the building is looking like currently:
The ceremony will be on the other side of the red lines marked ‘Air Wall’, but we’re talking about reception today. Note:
the chairs at the head table will all be facing the room, we just couldn’t get the program to place the chairs how we wanted! (Another iteration of this had the bridal party at a 6-person round table beside the parents, but mum said that people were coming to see us, and we should be facing the room. It was something we had already considered, so that was an easy fix.)
I’ve already gone over our vision for the reception: we wanted tapas-style, we wanted lots of mingling and meeting. Hang out by the food, wander over and say hi to people you know, meet people you don’t know in the line for the bar! This has been the plan for about as long as we have been planning. Because of this cocktail party-vibe we’re going for, we aren’t going to do a seating plan. People will really only be tied to their tables when there is speechifying going on. After that, it is a free-for-all, go-where-you-want type party. My mum knew this, and had requested that we have some larger ‘family’ tables near the front that are clearly reserved. She was worried about getting stuck at the back of the room while speeches and things were going on. Large round tables didn’t really fit into our vision, but we took it into consideration when planning out the room. As you can see from our floor plan, we decided to sit our 6 parents (mum & dad on my side, mum, dad, step dad, step mum on his side) at one larger table at the front, near our table, and near the little riser we’re going to have for the speakers.
We emailed this plan to my mum and… she doesn’t like it. She became very concerned about not having a seating plan, and doesn’t seem to think that the reception will be enjoyable at all because there is no seating plan. She worries that people will glom on to their friends and not talk to anyone else all night, whereas if we put Mr CB’s dad & step mum, my aunt & uncle, and two of our friends from work at a table, they will all become fast friends over the course of dinner.
The problem with that is that we want it to be a cocktail party—lots of wandering and grazing. We will not be providing large dinner plates to pile up and take back to your table, we are purposely only having little plates so you wander more. There will also be a couple waiters wandering with trays. We’re having the tables so people have somewhere to put their purses, and rest their feet when they’re tuckered out from meeting people at the feature station. We even spread out the three tables that will have self-serve appies so it is less buffet-like. There will also be a photobooth to hang out at, dancing, and hopefully a lounge area with couches and comfy chairs.
I think it will work. Cinnamon Buns has complete faith that our reception will work. But it is really, really hard to know that this is upsetting my mum. But we don’t want 10-person rounds and meticulously-planned seating arrangements, because that (to us) says ‘banquet’ not ‘quirky cocktail party’.
Is this post about getting your mum’s approval? How to have a cocktail-party wedding? About not having a seating plan? All of those really, but I really feel like I need some opinions from outside sources. If you went to a wedding like I described (no seating plan, small tables, wandering and mingling encouraged) how comfortable would you be?
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