“…but Aunt Betty doesn’t get along with Uncle Graham.”

Seating arrangements.

It’s one of (if not THE) most stressful parts of planning a wedding. You’ve selected your dress. Agonized over flowers. Even spent time creating the coolest, most original favors you could think of. But you still have to seat the guests. It even makes me shudder. And I like puzzles.

First come up with a plan. Draw out a floor plan of your reception hall, where the tables will be, the dance floor, the dj, entrances, etc. Or your reception hall probably has one available for you. Don’t forget to find out the number of guests each table sits.

Secondly, write every guest’s name on a separate card or a post-it note and start placing them. Make sure to put people near places that suit them best. Your family will want to be closest to the head table, but your friends may want to be near the dance floor or with easy access to the bar.

Don’t forget about the wedding party. Maybe you don’t want to have that traditional long table facing out to rest of the guests. Some brides and grooms want to make the day a little more about them as a couple and decide to sit at a smaller, more intimate table, just the two of them. That way the wedding party can sit at a separate table along with their dates.

Beware of “singles” and “couples” tables, as sometimes it could make guests feel awkward. You also might want to avoid seating the “random guests” together. They will quickly realize that they are the odd people out. Instead, get creative with where you seat them.

Another easy way to get through the agony of seating arrangements is using a spreadsheet. Break the guests up into categories and place them at tables based on who they know. (The bride’s family, groom’s family, bride’s friends, etc.)

A new development in making the seating arrangement process much easier is software you can download from the web. The software allows you to create a guest list, manage the menu, see who has RSVP’d and easily place your friends and family at specific tables.

Toptableplanner.com works completely online so you can access it from any computer. It allows you to easily add guests and tables; rearrange and rename. You can choose what type of table you’re using and you can simply drag-and-drop.

Perfecttableplan.com is another useful tool. This program is downloadable onto your computer and will auto assign your guests to tables. It’s usable for any size event, from small gathering to an extravagant 2,000+ affair. You can make profiles for each guest including their age (child or adult), gender, meal preference and more. Another step allows you to select the proximity of each guest to another person, from “seat next to” and “seat near to” to “not next to” and “not near to.” You’re easily able to select the shape of the table and arrange them according to the floor plan of your reception hall.

Seatingarrangement.com is the free service. This one lets you choose the meal options, design your floor plan manually, track RSVPs and all. However, you have to assign the seating yourself. Everything is easily movable. And as you fill up a table, the program makes a small pie chart showing how many guests are seated and how much room you have left at that table. And if you notice, the guests seated that are linked to the bride are pink and for the groom they’re blue!

So it may not be as stressful as we thought. One thing is for sure, the earlier you get started, the easier it will be. Good Luck and Happy Seating!