Take a seat...

On a couple of occasions, I have had brides that wish to have a laid back feel to their wedding reception without so much formality that they prefer not to use place cards. Because they selected an Inn that had a quaint restaurant in house, we decided to try it and found that it doesn't completely work. Their head tables had adorable little signs on them that read "Oops, this table is reserved" but the bride's uncle thought that since family was seated there and he was family - that he should sit there as well. This eliminated a seat for the father of the bride and his wife creating an embarrasing situation. We then had to find another two seats in a room with singles available. You can imagine the unfortunate outcome - moving people that had half eaten rolls with butter wrappings on the tables. Replacing place settings and adding chairs to tight tables was not fun. But, it was a learning expereince that no matter what the situation - place cards are always a necessity - people really do want to be told where to sit and not figure it out themselves. But, recently we had a cocktail reception (nightclub style) with what turned out to be an open invitation and we were beyond capacity. Because there would be some older guests, our concientious bride wanted to be sure they had access to a seat and reserved 8 tables (80 seats) for their comfort. Being a cocktail reception, assigned seating is not standard and we expected guests to understand that the assigned seats were a courtesy to the older guests but we were incorrect. Many guests complained that they did not have a seat, some guests took the available seats creating issues with the guests assigned to that seat and some even decided to leave. Now, I will say that at the remaining "open" cocktail tables - there were an additional 44 chairs available but they were not where those guests wanted to be seated. In the end, both receptions went on (even though there was a rocky start) and the guests enjoyed dinner and dancing. The guests who complained in the beginning were laughing and having a great time an hour later and all went well. But, no matter what style reception you are thinking of having - make sure that there is enough seating, keep your invitation list closed and always assign seating. It makes for a fabulous event and your guests will thank you!