Whether you decide on a small, intimate wedding, or a large,\nmore extravagant wedding, an important aspect you should never overlook is your\nseating arrangement for yourself and your guests. The reason for planning a seating chart is to avoid confusion and stress on your big day.

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Here are a few tips that will make creating the perfect\nseating chart easy as cake!

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Determine\nthe size of your wedding.

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First, you should take time to sit down with your groom to\ndecide how many guests you want to invite to your special day. Do you want your\nguests to have a plus one? Are you going to invite your distant relatives? What about your parent’s friends?\nDetermining the guests list and party size of your wedding will help smooth out\nthe seating process.

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If you decide on a smaller intimate wedding (50 or less guests), you may or may not want to provide specific seating arrangements for your guests. You could choose to just have a detailed list of those at the bridal table and leave the rest of the guests to seat themselves. Another option can be to assign tables for your guests and let them decide who they would like to sit next to at the table.

If you decide on a medium or large size wedding (75 +guests),\nyou should set up a formal seating chart with assigned tables and seats. This way, guests would feel special,\nas you took your time to decide where they should sit and with whom they should\nsit with – and minimize the amount of chaos on your big day. Also, having a\nseating chart would be helpful in terms of catering, as your caterer would know\nwhat your guests ordered to execute a formal plated dinner.

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Who\nSits Where?

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After you’ve determined the size of your wedding, here\ncomes the tricky part: where you’ll\nplace each guest.

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You should first receive back your RSVP’s about a week or two\nbefore your big day and check in with your caterer to see when you need to provide your final count. You should begin creating an outline of your seating\nchart. List out your RSVP’d guests (and their plus ones) according to category\n(groom’s friends, groom’s family, bride’s friends, bride’s family, co-workers,\nextended family, etc.). If you’re more of a visual person, draw a simple layout\nof the tables and place guests using sticky notes at each table.

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Family\nTables : Often times, parents of the bride and groom sit opposite\nof each other at a large family table closest to the bride and groom, with\nother close family members, friends, and the officiant. On the other hand, the\nbride and groom’s parents may wish to “host” their own table, consisting of\ntheir own close family and friends. To avoid any awkwardness or debates in the\ncase of divorced parents, you may want to split them up into separate tables\nand allow them to “host” their own tables as well.

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Also, be sure you know of any longstanding feuds or\nlandmines between family members and friends you need to avoid when finalizing\nyour seating chart. You may want to seat Aunt Hilgrid on Table 6 while Aunt\nBecky is across the room on Table 11 ­– trust me, they’ll thank you.

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General\nGuidelines for the Rest of Your Guests : As for the rest of your\nattendees, try your best to sit them at tables where they would be most\ncomfortable. Group them by different aspects of life (childhood, high school,\ncollege, work, etc.) and try to introduce them to people with similar interests\nand backgrounds.

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Singles/Matchmaker :\nDefinitely avoid seating your single friends at a table full of couples; this\nmay make them feel awkward. This may also be your chance to play matchmaker. If\nyou’ve been dying to set up your friend with a coworker, cousin or other\nfriend, take this as an opportunity to discretely sit them next to each other\nand leave the rest up to fate.

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Children :\nLastly, children should be seated with their parents, but you may want to opt\nfor a “kids’ table” if you plan on having a lot of children attend.\nStrategically place this table close to parents, with some games or toys to\nkeep them occupied throughout the reception. \n

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Another tip is to leave room for flexibility, as you are\nbound to have “no shows” and guests who show up without RSVPing.

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Method\nof Seating Guests.

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Now that you’re pretty much done with the seating chart,\nthe only thing left is how you’ll\nseat your guests.

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Escort\ncards : These cards are used in extremely formal seating plans.\nThey consist of envelopes with each guest’s name on the outer envelope and\ntheir table number on the inner card.

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Place\ncards : These tented cards are placed in alphabetical at the\nentrance of the reception table and indicate what table each guest will be\nseated; usually containing the guest’s name and table number. Guests are\nallowed to assign their own seat once at the table.

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Seating\nchart : Usually displayed in a pretty frame, alphabetically labeling\neach guests’ name and the table they will sit at. Typically coupled with place\ncards at each table to display the guest’s designated seat.

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Bride and\nGroom seating.

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If you and your hubby choose to have an intimate table of\njust you two, opt for the “sweetheart” table, where you two can enjoy the rest\nof the reception together. Alternatively, you two can choose to sit on a long,\nrectangular table (typically called the “head table” table) in the focal center\nof the room, facing your guests. This table typically includes the bridal\nparty; seating the bride to the groom’s right; the best man to her left; the\nmaid of honor to the groom’s left, and alternating bridesmaid and groomsmen\nfrom there.

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However, if you’re not into traditions and prefer a more\nsocial setting, you may want to sit at your parents’ table or leave open seats\nat each guest table to walk around and mingle with friends and family.