Over the wedding season I have observed countless guests standing at a wedding Seating Chart looking for their names in a sea of names, with fellow guests queing up behind them trying to also find their name on the chart.  As the entry to the room becomes blocked nerves get a little frazzled (especially if this activity is occurring outside in the sun) and very often people give up and start wandering about the room trying to find their name on a table instead. Or worse still, they wander back to the bar for another drink and the whole thing drags on and is a little like herding kittens let me tell you.  

Why is it so hard I wondered and then it hit me – we make it hard when we organise a wedding seating chart by table number; which is what just about everyone does. But there is a solution and it’s as easy as A, B, C…

Traditional Wedding Seating Chart

Think of a traditional wedding seating chart with Table Numbers and lists of names under them. It’s a pretty way to organise a Seating Chart I will give you that and to you the order makes perfect sense.  You have sweated over the placement of each guest for weeks, if not months, but to the guest looking at the chart for the first time, there is no rhyme or reason. Of course if they look at it long enough and know the majority of the names on the list they might work out the pattern, but whilst that is happening, time is ticking away on your Reception and there are still over a 100 guests to find their seat. And if you know hardly anyone, you don’t have a chance, you just have to go through each table, name by name, until you spot yours.  

Biggest problem apart from disgruntled guests – valuable dance time at the end of your Reception is being eaten away with this activity!

Alphabetical Seating Chart

Now not as pretty, but oh so much more practical, is the seating chart organised in Alphabetical Order. This list of names is immediately recognisable to a guest.  We are all trained from a young age to be able find our name in a list of names – I remember it being one of the first things I learned to do at school. With a chart like this, your guests approach and quickly see that the names are in Alphabetical order ( by first name or surname – that is your choice). The guest will automatically scan the list for the letter they need and find their name and table number. With that they are off to their seat, possibly taking several other members of their family with them as they all have the same name.  And so it goes, until everyone is seated with very little fuss.

I Do Crew Tip:  Your tables will still be identified by numbers - the number sits beside the guest's name on the seating chart. It is just their name that is ordered under the letter of the alphabet.

If you are in the middle of planning your wedding, with a ton of decisions to make, swapping numbers for letters might seem like a very small thing.  But trust me, this one little tweak will ensure everyone stays in a happy mood as they move from Cocktails to Reception and that they do so in a timely manner, allowing the two of you to join them and get on with the business of celebrating your wedding!

Do you agree that the Alphabetical wedding Seating Chart makes much more sense?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments or join the conversation on Instagram

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