Do I Need a Seat for Every Guest?

When you picture your wedding, do you picture long rows of tables with gorgeous place settings or do you picture a snazzy cocktail party atmosphere? (Maybe both??) Do you want the formal feel of a sit down dinner or do you want more of a mingling cocktail atmosphere?  How you answer these questions gives you your answer to whether or not you need a seat for every guest.

In Short, the Answer is No..

You definitely do not have to seat everyone.  In fact, it will save you money on tables, chairs, linens, and centerpieces if you don’t.  If you choose to do more of a cocktail style dinner with food stations you can do some seating and then give your guests many “perching” spots such as tall cocktail tables or different sections of soft seating like these from Vintage Sparkle.

What is Your Vibe?

It really comes down to a matter of preference and style. What type of ambiance or vibe do you want to portray? If a formal reception is your jam you should definitely have a seat for everyone. (Nana will NOT be happy standing at a cocktail table.) If you are thinking laid back and barbecue feel, you also don’t need to seat everyone and the same goes for a swanky cocktail feel. (But guys, soft seating is where it’s at!)

Another possible and viable option is to do seating for about 75% of your guests and then pepper cocktail tables around for the others.  It is likely that many of your friends will go for the fun lounge seating or will be fine standing up until it is time to dance. If you choose not to do a seat for every guest it is still a good idea to reserve tables for family and possibly even wedding party. They are usually the last to arrive and will want a place to go back to at times during the night.

Whatever you decide, make sure it will work with your venue. If you want a seat for everyone, make sure your guest count will allow for that within the venue. Talk to your planner or venue coordinator about what the possibilities are within the space. If the venue is broken up into multiple rooms, different soft seating may be optimal over seating people in multiple rooms. If the venue has a large warehouse feel you could easily seat everyone but add little vignettes around the perimeter for interest. Don’t afraid to be creative.

You can see us talk about this on Planning + Prosecco here! Happy Planning!