Emin Photography

Forgive me readers but this is long. Real long! I have separated this article in two posts. This is part one. Make sure to read both posts to get the full story. Here we goooooo…….

Although I happen to get one big buzz from planning special events, my least favorite part of party planning is deciding how the tables are laid out and who sits where. If you do not have an architect’s, interior decorator’s, sociologist’s, psychologist’s, caterer’s, entertainer’s and party planner’s mind all captured in your very own head, here is a little help for you:

Room layout/ Floorplan:

Hopefully you’ll have some professional guidance here.

* If you are having your celebration at a popular wedding location, their events coordinator will likely have very practical wisdom to share with you. Definitely ask if they have samples of different room layouts for you to take home and mull over. Ask the event coordinator which layout they think will work best with not only the amount of people you are having but the type of entertainment, activities, and decorations you have planned. If you are having a 16 piece orchestra they will need more room than a solo DJ. If you decide to bring in 22 lighted Christmas trees for your Winter Wonderland themed event, this is going to take more room than the two Ficus trees already there.

* Head table or no head table – Choosing if you want a Sweetheart table just for the two of you or if you want your entire wedding party sitting with you, is a huge issue to decide before you lay out the design of your room. If you hate people watching you eat or just not comfortable with being in the spotlight all night long, you just may choose to eliminate a head table all together. If that is your choice, make sure your table has “Hugs room” – so that people can comfortably come and extend their best wishes.

* Room design and table arrangements need to be a collaborative process with all professionals that will need some space during your wedding. Someone needs to call the DJ, orchestra, caterer, etc. and ask how much room their set-up takes and do they have any other special requirements for their installation. I remember one wedding I attended that the bride laid out her own space and put the DJ and the food buffet in a space where there was no electricity. This was not a good beginning of this poor bride’s wedding day!

* Make a list. Start writing down all the things you think you will need space for at your event. Do you want a dance floor, cake table, gift table, and hostess/guestbook/place-card table? List, list, list and share, share, share with everyone involved. My cousin forgot to place a cake table at her wedding, but then again she had forgotten to order the cake until two days before.

* How many guest tables you will need will be determined by so many factors. How many people do you want at each table? Does your location require a certain amount of guests at each table (some do for space and staff budgeting)? I like people to have lots of elbowroom so I like to see how the actual set-up will look like before I make my mind up. Take a look at how close the tables are placed near each other – is there room for people to get out of their chair without hitting the person sitting at the table in back of them? Ask your event site if you can come take a peek when they have set up for someone else’s event that would likely be similar to yours.

Stay tuned for part two – Who Sits Where?