While your wedding day should be about the groom and the bride, you should also consider your most important guests when setting up a table. This is where the rehearsal dinner seating arrangement comes into play.
Rehearsal dinners are meant to give a feel of what the big day will look like and help you plan carefully what needs to be done and adjusted before the actual event comes. With regard to seats, make our guests feel comfortable so they could enjoy the entire night as they see you tie the knot by arranging seats according to their friendship or affiliation with each other. However, some people will most likely not know the other people they’re with during the event so the rehearsal dinner allows them to mingle with each other pre-wedding.
How To Seat Guests At Rehearsal Dinner?
As mentioned above, try to group people in the same circle at one table. Although there are no real protocols for grouping people together, bringing people who know each other to one table can make them comfortable throughout the night.
If you plan to have your different friends connect and meet, you can mix and match them at one table. Just make sure to group couples together. Do this by first creating a list of all the attendees. You can use a spreadsheet so you can easily track all their names and possibly how you are connected with them.
To make it more efficient and simple, you can assign a table arrangement instead of a seating arrangement. Let them pick which seat they would like to sit at a table you’ve assigned.
Who Should Sit Where?
If you’re having a small group and one big round table is what you’ll be using, sit the groom and bride at the center of the table in front of the backdrop curtains. For obvious reasons, this will highlight where the newly wedded couple is.
For bigger events, make sure that the parents of both couples are seated near or next to each other. Ideally, the host/s should be by the main stage as well.
Finally, allot a space for your groomsmen and bridesmaids and their dates close to the main stage as well. Oftentimes, they get called to the stage and having them nearby can run the program smoothly.
Rehearsal Dinner Seating Plan Ideas
1. Name Your Tables
Naming your tables in accordance with your wedding theme is a great idea to help guests find their seating at rehearsal dinner or at the wedding itself. For example, for a galaxy wedding theme, you can name each table with a name of a constellation. For a 90’s wedding theme, you can name each table with an iconic item from that decade. Like a VHS, a Trapper Keeper, or VCR camera.
2. Framed Seating List
List each table and guest name on a paper and then frame each of them. Display it on a wall by the entrance with all the details so that guests know where to go as they enter the venue.
3. Polaroid
Perfect for a rehearsal dinner where you only invite a few people, have a small hanger with a polaroid photo of each guest stating the table number where they should be seated.
4. Mirror
Attach the seating arrangement list on a mirror. It will be beneficial to the guests as well as they can check where they are seated and at the same time look at themselves in the mirror as they enter the venue.
5. Glass Door
If you’re going for a rustic vibe, handwrite the guest list on the panels of an old glass door. Use a white glass board marker and cover the rear portion with black paper so that it can easily be read.
How to Style Your Rehearsal Dinner
The rehearsal dinner is a preparation for the wedding so dressing up the event doesn’t need to be as grand as the event itself. If that happens, that would mean holding the wedding twice, which in turn means double the spending.
However, as informal or calm as the rehearsal dinner should be, you still need to consider it to be presentable and special.
1. Design The Tables and Chairs
Besides thinking about the rehearsal dinner seating arrangement, think of how to design the venue. As simple as it may seem, adding proper linen tablecloth, chair covers, table runners, and table overlays to the whole set up can do wonders and make a simple celebration look extravagant. Make sure to get your supplies from a trusted source like CV Linens
2. Have a Dress Code
Another idea is to have a dress code. Make everyone wear the same color, related to the theme of the wedding and it will make the gathering more memorable. A serene white top can make the rehearsal dinner more peaceful and simple.
3. Make It Simple
The rehearsal dinner doesn’t have to be an all-out event. It’s an occasion to bring all your close friends and family together and it can be as simple as possible.
You can do it in your house and have a picnic style celebration in your backyard. You can also rent out a bar and have a few drinks and enjoy the night together.
While planning for your rehearsal dinner, it is very important to consider the seating arrangement as well. It helps organize the flow of the evening and a great preparation for your big day.
For the rehearsal dinner itself, do enjoy yourselves and don’t stress yourself out. It is the time to unwind with your friends and family before your big day. Have fun.
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