If you are having a wedding reception in a beautiful Ottawa wedding venue like the St. Elias Centre, you can’t forget about making seating arrangements! People like to know where they are sitting and that you took the time to choose who and where they are seated. We’ve outlined a number of useful tips to make your wedding reception go off without a hitch:
The Head Table
First things first: you need to decide what your plan is for the head table. Will it be a long rectangular table facing all the other tables? Will it be a small table for just the newlyweds? The latter is easy to arrange. For a traditional head table, the bride and groom usually sit in the middle with the maid of honour next to the groom and the best man next to the bride. The rest of the wedding party sits boy/girl to fill out the rest of the table.
Your Parents
Depending on your family dynamic at the time of the wedding, the parents of the two newlyweds may no longer be married, and they might even be at odds. You’ll have to take these things into account when seating your parents. You can have the parents from both side along with grandparents and siblings at the same table if that works for everyone. If not, another idea is to have each parent host a table with their close family.
Avoid Tension
There may also be situations in which certain family members or friends just don’t get along. It’s probably best to seat them as far away as possible. They’ll appreciate it. You don’t want tempers to flare during your big day. You would like to hope everyone can keep it civil for the married couple’s sake, but we all know that isn’t always possible.
Play Matchmaker
Reception tables offer a good opportunity to mix and match your friends and family in groups you think will get along well. If you have a number of single friends coming, you can match them at a table with people of the same age group. If you have a few steady couples coming, you can match them up with people of similar interests so they have something in common. You never know who you will see dancing with who late into the night or which people you will see sharing laughs!
With these seating tips, you’ll have the perfect arrangement for your perfect wedding.