There’s a lot of talk about seating charts on the wedding day. Should you make one? Do you need one? What kind of display should you make? Rest assured, we created a blog post to answer all the important questions about making a seating chart for your wedding day, along with some pictures for insporation!

**What even is a seating chart?**

“A Seating Chart is a visual representation or diagram that shows where people are assigned to sit in a given space or during an event, used for various purposes like weddings, conferences, classrooms, or even airplane seating:

What’s the difference between A Seating Chart and Assigned Seating?

A seating chart will tell your guests what table to sit at. There’s typically a large display that guests can look at to see where they’re supposed to go.

Assigned seating tells your guest what table they’ll be at, and what specific seat is reserved for them. Typically placecards are used at each spot to show which guest is supposed to sit where.

To show you a few diffent examples of seating charts, I’ve included a few photos of what our couples have done to display assignments in the past.

The Pros of a seating chart

More Efficient for Catering— Caterers can better confirm meal proportions, quantities, leading to much better food service.

A Much Better Flow for Guests During the Reception- With seating charts, guests know where they’re going, and they know what table to sit at. They don’t have to wander around the room looking for the best spot, because they already have one set aside for them.

Organization- Guests who have an assigned table, can find their seat more quickly for special moments such as the grand entrance, first dance, and speeches. Without assigned tables, some guests scramble to find a seat, or wander around aimlessly because they’re not sure where they’re supposed to go.

Controlling the Dynamcs- By placing guests at designated tables, you’re ensuring that guests who like each other sit at the same tables, and guests who don’t, sit farther away from each other, creating less problems during the reception.

Extra Decor for the Welcome Area- Seating charts are a great way to add an extra decor element, and to let your creativity shine! So many couples choose to have a seating chart that makes a statement.

Ensuring Everyone has a Seat- Seating charts are incredibly helpful for larger weddings, because you make sure ahead of time that each guest has a seat at your wedding, and there are no surprise guests who will need a new table and chair rolled out for them at the last minute.

The Cons of a seating chart

Creating the Chart Takes Time- Creating your seating chart will take extra time to plan and make, which in some cases causes more stress than it’s worth.

Last Minute Changes- If a guest calls out at the last minute, it’s more than likely the seating chart won’t be able to be updated, so any last minute changes won’t be added to your seating chart. However, you can make an overflow table, so any last minute guests that show up or who didn’t rsvp but came anyway, can sit at the overflow table.

Guest Disappointment- Some guests might not like where they’re sitting, but the good news is, they can still talk to their friends who sit at a different table throughout the evening, and after dinner, they can even move chairs to sit with them.

Tips & Tricks to making a seating chart:

Have your guests names listed in alphabetical order. It will be so much easier for your guests to find their names this way, rather than hunting for their name at each table number card.
Many couples ask if they need to include their headtable on their seating chart. While it’s not necessary, some couples like to add it incase other guests want to know where the bridal party sits.
Most tables 1-4 are for the direct family of the couple. However, depending on your floorplan layout and how you choose to number your tables, this might change, and it’s ok if it does! Your immediate family doesn’t NEED to sit at tables “1 & 2”, as long as they are near your table, everything works out.
Place your seating chart in your cocktail hour location. This gives guests the opportunity to find their table before the dinner hour.