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There are pros and cons of having a seating chart at your wedding reception.

Pros:

Organization
The first pro is that if you decide to arrange a seating chart this will make things more organized during the reception. This way people won’t be walking around several times trying to decide where to sit because you’ve done it for them! And who doesn’t love all the beautiful ideas for name places?
Rustic Wedding - Place Cards
Photo Credit: Wilde Company

Geode Place Name Cards
Photo Credit: Rebecca Vaughan Photography

Formal Feel

If you are planning on having a more formal affair a seating chart is essential. It just looks and feels fancy! And we believe it will make everyone feel important because you hand chose where every single person will sit during your festivities.

White & Pink Traditional Wedding - Seating Chart
Photo Credit: Rebeccas Vaughan Photography
Control Freak’s Dream!
Planning a seating chart allows the most control of how your reception will go. This is great if you have family members or friends that maybe you don’t want to sit close if they don’t get along or may cause unwanted stress on your big day. It simply allows you the control of how things will flow.
Less Stress Day Of

Although preparing a seating chart can be stressful, it will cause less stress the day of. Everything will be organized instead of just letting things happen without control.

Cons:
Added Stress
Although having a seating arrangement will help lessen the stress on your big day planning one can be very stressful and time consuming. In order to properly plan a seating chart you have to rely on all your guests RSVPing and sometimes that can be difficult.
Unannounced Guests
Having a seating arrangement doesn’t account for unannounced guests, and trust me you will have them. For whatever reason some people are just not good at RSVPing, or doing it at the last minute. If you have a seating arrangement and someone shows up unannounced this can add some stress to your reception. Maybe have an extra table to account for these guests so you don’t have to worry about it.
Unhappy Guests
This could cause some unwanted unhappiness between your guests if they are not happy with who they are sitting with. This is why it’s crucial to really think a lot about who is sitting where when arranging the seating chart.
Alternative Option: Assign Tables 
Another option that is sort of a hybrid between doing a seating arrangement and not, is assigning tables and allowing guests to choose their seats. This gives your guests a little freedom to sit where they want, instead of arranging each individual seat.
seating chart

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