How are you seating your guests at the reception?

Question

Instead of 1 long head table, I am going to have 2 round tables of 10 with all the attendants, dates, etc. The reception seating will be round tables of 10. Should I have the bride's parents and the groom's parents sitting together along with the minister, or do you usually have each side sitting with their friends and family? All the parents get along well, but a number of people are flying in from out of town and want to sit together for dinner. What is usually done? Do you try to mix the 2 sides for seating?

Answer 1

I didn't mix the two sides, I kept family together with who they knew.

Answer 2

We had a head table with attendants and special guests (not dates, lol). Then we had round tables of 10 - with tables close to the front reserved for family.

Otherwise, seating was open.

Answer 3

it sounds like you're doing a great job trying to keep tabs of whats going on. The key thing is to be open and allow changes if need be. If possible allow the guests to mix and mingle during the meal, Tables in a circle are a good idea but it might also lead to some issues, because its difficult to concentrate on your meal and chat with anyone who is not sitting at the table. Depending on the amount of guests though I think you should be all set and if you can seat the ones who flew in together then that's perfectly good.

Answer 4

We are not mixing a LOT of the family but some who already know each other. We are having a sweetheart table and seating the BM/Gm with their significant others and other people they know or will get along with. Our parents are not sitting together. It was not necessarily an easy feat but we did manage to sit everyone with someone we think they won't kill lol...

Good luck!

Answer 5

Oh, the two sides shouldn't be deliberately separated. That goes for the reception as well as for the wedding. Seat people based on age and common interests so that they have people to talk to. i.e. seat all your school friends together because they probably know each other, seat all the grandparents together, etc.

Answer 6

Definitely sit everyone with their closest friends and/or family. If you don't they will end up migrating toward each other anyway and sitting together so they can socialize. Its a good idea doing a sweetheart table (just the bride and groom), that's what I did at my wedding in June and I loved it because all my bridesmaids and the groomsmen got to sit with their families

Answer 7

We have 2 banquet tables and 7 round tables. My huz and I are sitting on one of the round tables (I'm impartial to round tables) with my parents and brother and his mom and brother and grandpa. Then the rest of the guests can sit wherever they want