I’m thinking about having this kind of a setup for the wedding where everyone sits at round tables but then I have 2 long tables flanking the aisle for our families. I don’t really have very much extended family attending the wedding, so it may be my bridesmaids mostly. I looked up who traditionally sits at these tables and it’s really complicated and not applicable to desi weddings so much. I was wondering if any of you guppans did it, whether you liked it, and how you went about deciding who sat where?
For my sister's wedding, we did assigned seating. Contrary to the belief that Desis can't handle assigned seating, it worked Alhumdolillah. And we received compliments for it being an organized wedding MashaAllah.
my neice's wedding had the assigned seating arrangements and everything worked well...desi people were in minority while whites were in majority so it worked well.
For my sister's wedding, we did assigned seating. Contrary to the belief that Desis can't handle assigned seating, it worked Alhumdolillah. And we received compliments for it being an organized wedding MashaAllah.
did you have your family at a head table or were they just at the same round tables but just sitting together?
did you have your family at a head table or were they just at the same round tables but just sitting together?
Head table. The only extended family I have here is my khala and her kids. So there was a table set in front...close to the stage...that was reserved for my immediate family and khala's family. Similarly a head table was set for the groom's family.
For one of my cousins wedding in Canada, she had the entire room/venue separated - one side was groom's family/friends, other side was bride. At the front, right under the stage where groom/bride were seated was a long table. The groom + bride's parents + siblings were seated there. It looked nice and was pretty organized. Desi's can handle assigned seating... just takes a bit if effort on the part of the bride/groom in terms organizing.
Head table. The only extended family I have here is my khala and her kids. So there was a table set in front...close to the stage...that was reserved for my immediate family and khala's family. Similarly a head table was set for the groom's family.
For one of my cousins wedding in Canada, she had the entire room/venue separated - one side was groom's family/friends, other side was bride. At the front, right under the stage where groom/bride were seated was a long table. The groom + bride's parents + siblings were seated there. It looked nice and was pretty organized. Desi's can handle assigned seating... just takes a bit if effort on the part of the bride/groom in terms organizing.
Hmm I like both these ideas. The problem is more with his side of the family. He has 5 uncles that all have kids (some even have grandkids) and his brother and sister are married and have kids too.
My side on the other hand, I'm the eldest so no one else is married and I have no family here. My dad's best friends are like my uncles and they'd be seated at the head table but it's no where near as many people as my fiance's.
I wanted to do the 2 tables (one side the groom's family and the other table with my side) but I don't know how to go about that.
Should I just do his parents + siblings + their spouses at one table and then my parents + siblings at the other (still uneven)
or
parents + siblings and spouses + groomsman/bridesmaids at each side
or
parents + siblings/spouses + aunts/uncles (my side would have dad's friends as the aunts/uncles) --> do i include the cousins too???
I just can't decide what would be the easiest way to organize this. I don't see my parents / siblings sitting still long enough to even warrant having a table for them (it'll be empty 95% of the time) but obviously they're important and I want htem to have a special place to sit.
Either side of the walkway my sister used for her entrance was flanked by tables. So there were tables on the right of the walkway and to the left of the walkway. On the right sude...the table at the front and closest to the stage was reserved for my immediate family and khala's family. On the left side of the walkway...the table at the front and closest to the stage was reserved for the groom's family. Behind these tables ...were tables assigned for family friends etc.
So, make name cards and give them to the hotel coordinator or wedding planner and have her place it on the select tables. If you're going about this on your own...then place the name cards yourself. My cousin's wedding was super organized and she went about it herself. She typed up names on fancy paper, folded it to make cards...glued a rhinestone it just yo jazz it up a bit...and had her family place the cards on the select tables whilst she got ready. If you're gonna have two tables on opposite sides of the hall....then set one table for your family. And then set the other table for his parents and siblings and their spouses. Even if your family is not going to be sitting at their table for long.....it's still nice (imo) to be able to return to their original seats so that they're close to the stage. So, that they don't have to search and scramble for a seat come dinner time. So, that it's easier for them to leave their table to get to the stage for pictures etc....so it helps to keep their table closest to the stage. Makes going to n fro much easier.
At my sisters wedding we had one head table with bride and groom in middle and 6 people seated either side so it was equal. There were 6 of us that's why we kept this number.
But if you want to sperate tables, does it matter if its uneven? If u are worried about them being uneven either keep them even by you having other friends and relatives making up numbers or else at grooms side u could have people sitting at both sides of long table and on brides side just on 1 side.
Definetly go with named seating as it is more organised. Know it's a lot of work but works out better in the end.
I think u only need to have his immediate family sitting at the head table and that too without kids.
I was thinking of doing assigned tables instead of seats. That way they can still have some freedom and I can still make sure that some random dramatic aunty that was invited by my parents doesn't sit smack dab in the middle of all the action while my important guests are in the far corner.
We had 2 head tables but a couple of younger cousins from abroad ended up sitting there whilst their parents sat somewhere else, it wasn't strictly designated or anything..
Same happened at my brother's wedding, I actually sat on the end of one of the tables (cause I was the last one to get there :D) and two of my youmger cousins ended up between my and my dad.. Some guests ended up thinking they were dad's kids and I was some random family member lol but I didn't think it was a big deal..
We did assigned tables rather than seating as well but a lot of people didn't stick to it..
How did you guys go about telling people what table they’re at? Most desi weddings I’ve been to DON’T have assigned tables OR seating so it’s a free for all; don’t know how to go about it. I’d rather do assigned tables instead of assigning straight seats…any ideas?
My parents decided to forego the wedding planner so we’re doing it all ourselves. I was thinking of having some sort of chart or something like that at the entrance with the table assignments? Looking for more creative ideas.
Does the hotel or venue have a coordinator who can help reinforce assigned seating? Or consider getting some family members..uncles/dad/bro/male cousins…to tell and remind the guests. Will be using an MC? The MC can also remind guests to go to their assigned tables.
^You can use a chart if you want, but don’t rely only on that. Use other reinforcements cuz some folks may not look at the chart or there might be a crowd gathered by the chart. So us various methods. Use place cards listing name of family/ies for each table. Get relatives and MC to handle seating while you get ready. These last three should suffice and I don’t think you even need to make a chart.
