How to properly seat the guests at the wedding?

Seating guests at the wedding table is an important organizational moment. The psychological comfort of the guests and the general mood of the holiday depend on a correctly drawn up seating plan. Therefore, the utmost attention is paid to this event, and at the same time all sorts of accompanying factors are taken into account.

Before starting planning and drawing up a seating scheme for the invitees, you should decide on the location of the festive tables. There are many options here and which one to choose depends on the number of guests, the area of ​​the banquet hall and the personal preferences of the groom and the bride. First of all, it is necessary to inspect the venue for the future banquet and draw up an accurate floor plan. It is desirable to display on it the differences in floor heights, the location of windows, doors and the DJ's table, as well as the presence of columns, their location and number.

You should also ask the staff of the institution what shape and size the tables will be, and whether the administration allows them to be moved. This is due to the fact that in some cafes and restaurants the tables have already been arranged taking into account the architectural solution of the premises and the convenience of the service personnel, and it is not allowed to rearrange them. If the manager of the establishment does not mind moving the tables, then you can proceed to the choice of their layout. Below are the most popular locations, among which there are both traditional options and fairly new, and sometimes unexpected.

• Classic scheme. This method is considered the simplest and is used at ceremonial banquets with a limited number of guests. There is one long table in the hall, made up of several small tables adjacent to each other. The heroes of the occasion are always seated at the head, and the young wife sits to the right of her husband, and on both sides of the newlyweds are their witnesses and parents. When seating guests at a common table, they use the traditional scheme, in which men and women are alternated.

• T-shaped way the arrangement of tables has long been the most common option. This arrangement is the best suited for holding ceremonial banquets for up to 25 people, held in small halls. The bride and groom sit at the head of the table, witnesses and parents follow them, and the rest of the guests sit as they please, since the T-shaped arrangement contributes to good visibility of the invitees, and allows each of the guests to see and hear everyone well from almost anywhere. from those present.

• U-shaped way the table arrangement is suitable for more numerous weddings in which the number of guests reaches 50 people. This also includes the W-shaped arrangement, which is used in cases where the number of guests exceeds 60 people. However, with both methods of placement, you need to pay great attention to seating guests and in no case let it go by itself. This requirement is due to the fact that a significant part of the invitees will have their backs to each other. This will seriously complicate communication between loved ones who did not get a place at one "sleeve" of the table, and will force them to eat and communicate in half.

This is followed by European options for the arrangement of tables, which were quickly adopted by Russian restaurateurs and event organizers and began to be widely used during ceremonial banquets. The main feature of the European scheme is the presence of freestanding tables in the hall, which act as an alternative to the common table. This method is very convenient for seating people by interests, age and degree of kinship.

Young spouses also sit at a separate table, while witnesses and parents sit at adjacent tables. However, this innovation, along with admirers, also has opponents who argue that such an arrangement somewhat complicates the communication of guests sitting at neighboring tables, and if they are sufficiently far from each other, it completely reduces it to nothing. In order to avoid such moments and not turn the wedding into several absolutely independent and non-overlapping "interest clubs", a toastmaster is involved. And if the invited organizer is really a master of his craft, then he skillfully and correctly will be able to organize joint competitions, games and quizzes and easily introduce all the guests to each other.

• Italian way involves the arrangement of square tables for four persons, placed in a checkerboard pattern. The tables should be installed in such a way that guests from any place could freely see the main table, at which the young people will be. For a better view, the table of the newlyweds is placed on a stage or dais, which allows them to freely communicate with the guests, and those present can see and hear the spouses well.

• English version involves the use of round or oval tables, at which eight people are seated.According to most European psychologists, this is the number of people who are most comfortable for communication in a narrow circle. Another interesting way also belongs to the English style, in which guests are seated in such a way that none of them have their backs to the young. For this, chairs are placed only on one side of the tables, seating those present in a semicircle. For the similarity with the arrangement of chairs in the institution of the same name, the method was called "cabaret".

• Arrangement of tables "herringbone" is an average version between the European and traditional methods. In this case, young people are also seated at a free-standing table, and the rest of the tables, usually for 8-12 persons, are placed diagonally from the main one, parallel to each other. Guests in this arrangement should be seated along the two long sides of the table, while the side parts remain unoccupied.

• American way the arrangement consists in the fact that long tables with dishes located on them are installed around the perimeter of the room, and each invitee comes up and chooses everything that he liked. Two long tables are set up in the center of the hall and placed parallel to each other. Guests, having taken the dish they like, sit down at any of them and eat. At the same time, the newlyweds sit at a separate table, located perpendicular to the two guests. The advantage of the American buffet is a significant reduction in food costs, and the disadvantages include the need for self-service, which many guests may not approve of.

• Buffet arrangement it is used in the case when the organization of a magnificent banquet is not planned, and the couple immediately after registration leaves for their honeymoon. Under these circumstances, the ideal option would be to install buffet tables without the use of chairs. Drinks and light snacks are usually placed on the tables, and the event itself resembles a short party.

Before you start planning your seating arrangements, you need to write a complete list of guests and send them invitations. After the answers are received, you can start drawing up a plan. In order to avoid confusion when seating people, and everyone quickly found their place, a colorful stand or easel with a seating diagram is placed in the foyer of the banquet hall. Cards are attached to it with the names of the guests and indicating the number of the table and the place of landing.

The form of the information poster and its layout must be thought out in advance, this will allow you to create the necessary props and decorate it beautifully without haste. So, for country-style weddings, it will be appropriate to make a poster in the shape of a window and place it on a tripod. If the wedding is in a vintage style, then you can take a stylized board and write all the necessary information on it with chalk. An interesting option would be to write table numbers and guests' names with a marker on a glass stand.

However, you can design an easel or poster not only with a list. It could be a beautifully drawn plan of a banquet hall. Guests can easily navigate by it and will know which part of the room they should enter. In addition, if the tables are arranged in a European style, then each of them can be given its own original name. Options include wines, garden flowers, gems, dances, or shades. If the number of invitees is more than 15 people, then you need to make 2-3 identical copies and place them in different places in the hall.This saves people from having to queue up to find out where they are and promotes a quick and relaxed seating position.

Each number on the stand has its own card with the desired number or name of the guest. They are placed on the tables, and the invitees easily find the right place and sit down. When creating a card layout, you need to take into account that the guest's name looks much more spectacular than faceless numbers, so it is better to be additionally puzzled and make them personalized. In addition, these cards continue the line of the general style of the event and show guests how important each of them is to the young.

The design of the cards should repeat the design of the invitations and be closely intertwined with the decoration of the hall and the color trends of the celebration. The names of peers are prescribed without specifying the patronymic, while for persons of the older generation it is mandatory, but in both cases it is better not to write the surname. An exception is the presence of two or more people with the same name at the banquet. In this case, the spelling of the surname is necessary.

A stand with a list and name cards can be ordered at the printing house, whose specialists will help you choose the right design that matches the main style and idea of ​​the holiday. However, the printed matter, no matter how beautiful it may be, is a little boring and no one really impresses anyone, therefore, if you have free time, it is better to arrange the props yourself. Homemade postcards look much more soulful than those printed on a printer and will be remembered by the guests of the holiday for a long time.

The technology for making cards with your own hands is as follows:

• 10x10 cm cards are cut out of cardboard and bent in half;
• on one part, a number cut out of colored paper is glued with the number of the seat and table, and on the other, the name of the guest is written in a beautiful font;
• the background of the postcard should correspond to the general color scheme of the holiday, and the numbers should be of the same color spectrum, but slightly darker;
• then the edges of the card are decorated with satin braid, which is tied into a bow and decorated with a bead;
• the upper left and lower right corners of both parts of the postcard are decorated with sequins, the main thing is that there are not too many of them, and they do not cover the number and name.

You can arrange cards in different ways: it can be a classic house or a heart or a circle cut from the bottom and put on a glass. If time and money permit, instead of a card, you can put a small gift box for each guest with a name written on top and some symbolic surprise inside. Cards made using the origami technique, placed on plates and decorated with sweets or flowers, also look great.

After the table layout and the way of indicating the seats have been chosen, you can start compiling a list: which of the guests will sit next to whom. To do this, you need to use simple recommendations, which will help to accommodate each of the guests as comfortably as possible, thus choosing interesting interlocutors and a pleasant company for him.

• With any arrangement of tables, it is desirable that all guests have the opportunity to see the heroes of the occasion.
• Parents and close relatives are seated as close to the young as possible, taking into account the age and degree of kinship of the relatives.
• If high-ranking persons are present at the banquet, it is recommended that they be seated at a separate table, as close as possible to the newlyweds. Moreover, they should not be seated at the same table with their parents: this will lead to the fact that both will feel uncomfortable and will not really eat anything.The best option would be to seat them next to close friends of the newlyweds. At this age, the guys still feel quite relaxed, and the presence of high officials will not bother them.

• Divorced couples should be seated away from each other, and each of them should be warned about the presence of the ex-spouse at the banquet in advance.
• Guests who come alone should not be hooked up with married couples or companies of old friends. It is better to find such a person the same lonely interlocutor, which, however, often leads to new long-term acquaintances, and possibly the formation of new relationships.
• It is better to sit an inseparable company of work colleagues from the side of the spouse next to the same friendly company of friends or classmates from the side of the wife. As a rule, these two teams quickly find a common language and have a lot of fun.

• People with a cheerful and perky temperament are recommended to alternate at the table with shy and calm guests. Otherwise, at some tables there will be a storm of fun, and at others, the banquet runs the risk of turning into a silent meal. In addition, the interests and hobbies of those present should also be taken into account.
• Children, if there are more than three people, should preferably be placed at a separate table with food and drinks adapted to their age. This is due to the fact that not all guests are ready to be touched by the presence of small children, and the presence of a squealing toddler at a common table can cause discomfort to many of those present. It is recommended to place the children's table away from the newlyweds and sound equipment. The latter rule is especially important, since the musical accompaniment of the holiday is often quite loud and can harm children's hearing.
• It is better to seat foreign guests with people who speak their native language a little, or with English-speaking guests.

For information on how to properly seat the guests at the wedding, see the next video.