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I know there are computer programs and online services for this, but my low tech technique has been highly successful for us so far! How low tech? I’m talking poster board and book stickies with names written on them. I know my poorly scaled design isn’t beautiful, but it is so, so easy to work with and rearrange.
If you’re kind of lost about where to start, I clumped our attending RSVPs into groups.
The simple headings were yours, mine, and ours, but sometimes more specific ones like family, family friends, friends from school, etc. made it easier down the line on who to put together and where.
I’m really glad we started this early. It’s a work in progress but we’re getting there. We have a large enough number of guests that it was really important to me to have assigned tables to reduce chaos and be sure we were able to keep families and dates together. Any other scenario in my head played out like a scene in slow motion from a war movie with children crying and families being separated. As far as a head table goes, we’re being non-traditional and sitting with just our parents and having the attendants with their dates at the neighboring tables.
Are you assigning tables for guests? How did you keep everything organized?
I started planning my seating chart and we haven’t even finalized who made the cut on the invite list, lol. I’m obessive. I’m using excel to plot my chart.
I like your low-tech version! I am pretty hands on/visual so I will be definitely borrowing this idea. did you color coordinate your flags per group? I think I might do this as my FI is insistent that our tables of 8 have a good mix of friends and family so that they get a chance to mingle and meet each other….
I’m actually looking forward to hearing what y’all have to say on this - I’m in the same process and balancing out parental input on the subject is proving to be the hardest. For context, my mom doesn’t know all of the attendees (even all of the family attendees) and is focusing only on her friends and relatives enjoying themselves and sitting at the “best” tables. Has anyone else dealt with such push-back on seating? I have already asserted that we have the final say, but it has become quite an issue.
I did the same thing. I had a giant poster board and 5 colors of flags… My moms family, my dad’s family, my FIL’s family & my MIL’s family and then one for all of friends.
I made a floorplan and tables and stuck people together. One thing that was helpful was knowing how many of what size tables my venue had. Also, when I was finished, I made a chart in Microsoft publisher that I could print out for my last meeting with my coordinator.
Haha I like your low-tech version. I will probably due the same. I love spreadsheets and templates, but sometimes it’s nice to have it down on pen and paper. (Or poster board and post-it flags in your case!)
I like your idea of sitting with your parents at the head table and letting your attendants sit with their dates.
I’m not doing assigned tables. People’s not used to it here so it’s consider rude to “limit” people that way. I went to a party with assigned sitting once and everyone was talking about what a control freak the hostess was.
I’m glad I don’t have to do it cause it does sound like a lot a of work. Best of luck.
I have what I believe to be the most beautiful spreadsheet of all time. I have “tables” with names around them (pulled from our rsvp list) I just pick up names and move them around. I have another tab that looks up each name and its table number to make for easy printing.
It’s some of my best work and I’m an accountant so I know from a good spreadsheet 
Oh… I’m even more low tech, honey! I’m talking dinner plates and a dry erase marker! I’m very visual and needed a way to assign seats (not only tables) for our reception from the coordinator’s room diagram. I did it with my mother, MIL, SIL and Aunt-in-law… so this was great to have set out on the living room floor for everyone to see. When I needed to clear the floor space the plates were stacked up carefully so they could be altered later if need be (and they WERE!). We ate off of paper & styrafoam for about a week hehe!
Check this pic out! http://tinypic.com/r/k3213n/5
I wouldn’t think it’s rude at all. The people who do probably have never had to be directly involved with an event plan in their life. I am a believer that assigned tables makes for less worry when you have -just enough- seating for everyone. When you’re limited like that and don’t assign, you get people sitting down, then another couple comes and sits but usually leaves a chair open between them and the people already at the table. It’s not necessarily intentional, but respect for personal space. We didn’t have that luxury at our venue, so we grouped people into comfortable 10-person rounds with friends/family they would enjoy sitting beside. Easy.
An example of this on a similar note: I attended a smallish (75) wedding with no assigned tables last summer. We were some of the last people to come sit down between cocktail hour and dinner… there were five of us, and five seats left open — all at different tables. yeah, it was pretty awkward shuffling that around.
@knvprincess143: No, no! I think it would be helpful to have an idea already. You would only have rearranging left to do later.
@HLB: I color coded by dates, families, and groups of people that I didn’t want to have split up. Finding a better color coding system might be good to get the mix you described. Tables with a good balance of people I think are always more fun!
@lobbyart: Sorry this is a sticky subject for you and your family! I don’t know if this helps at all, but I think the better located tables will be given to our family members and friends of our parents too. Our thinking was that even if some of our friends were banished to back tables for dinner, they would be more likely to relocate to the dance floor, bar, or other spots after the meal. Let me know how it all works out for you and good luck!
@almostmrsc: That’s a really good idea to make a version that can be printed out and given to people who need the information! I could handle putting in the finished project more than doing all of the adjusting on the computer.
@TinyTina: Poster boards and stickies all the way! I could not recommend it enough!
@Courtney: Thanks! We’re moving away and they’ve helped us so much with the wedding that we wanted to be sure to have that time with them.
@Coffee cup: Oo yikes! If it wasn’t really done here (especially if it was looked down on), I would have skipped it too!
@Lexy: That does sound like the mother of all wedding seating spreadsheets!
@Bowden2Be: I never would have thought to do it that way but it sounds and looks awesome! If you have a few minutes you should really post it to the boards so more people can see it! It’s extra nice that you can just stack them up when you’re not working on it.
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say great blog!
I would be so lost at a wedding that didn’t have assigned seating. And you also run in to the middle school, why don’t my friends want to sit with me anxiety. Luckily, enough of our friends know each other in totally random ways that our seating chart should be nice and easy.
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Mrs. Raccoon, Indianapolis Age and Occupation: 22, Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Graduate Student Engagement Date: Christmas 2010 Wedding Date: January 2012 Venue: Catholic Church, Chateau Thomas Winery About Me: I'm a wholesome Midwestern girl, TV series junkie, professional shower singer, and Anglophile. I love my fiance, crock pot cooking, my cat Heepo, going for the gusto, and all things wedding. Mr. Raccoon is pretty sweet, too! He’s a mad scientist that loves to travel. We met my first night on campus and have been inseparable since.
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