When the vows have been exchanged, the church ceremony is over and everyone is together at the wedding reception it is another special part of a very important day. If you have the job of planning the wedding then knowing exactly how to manoeuvre the seating plan at the reception can throw up more than a few head-scratching moments for you to ponder over. There can be certain sticking points and unexpected politics involved and it can be easy to inadvertently offend a friend or member of the family. These are some of the ways that you can remove the possibility of ruffling a few feathers.
Gender
There are some that would suggest you should adhere to the unwritten rule of constructing the seating plan entirely by putting a male and female next to each other and repeating it. This can certainly be useful but do not feel like you have to obey the rule as a fairly flexible approach with regard to it is often the best way.
Separating the different groups
It can be good to mix the sections of people who may not have previously met with regard to having their tables close to each other and to watch them mingle as the reception goes on. However, if you have a crowd that are particularly rowdy then it could be wise to separate them from your more reserved section of guests. The older guests will generally prefer to be closer to the head table so they can clearly enjoy the speeches.
Allocating tables rather than seats
It can be an extremely useful idea to take away an element of the seating plan and the problems it can potentially bring by allocating your guests to tables and then allowing them to decide who sits in which seat.
Underlying issues
Due to the amount of people that the bride and groom may know you can get a lot of interlinking relationships, friendships and even disputes present at the reception. To avoid any problems you should always try to separate people who may not get on, for the good of your day. Certain sections of the couple’s family may no longer be together so to avoid making anyone feel left out you can think of it as allocating them a team. If the groom’s parents are no longer married then you may decide that the father should be the head of one table and the mother at the head of her own, with a mix of guests that they know on each.
Article written by Courtney Neal on behalf of the premier company for wedding cars Hampshire can provide http://www.premiercarriage.co.uk/.