As a vendor at many Bridal Shows, Sizemore Selectives (invitations, save the dates, and seating charts) we wanted to share a tip for Brides and Grooms that attend Bridal Shows.  Many vendors have special prize drawings in their booth and to enter you have to fill out a drawing slip.  Normally, the drawing slip asks you for your name, address, phone number and email address, plus your wedding date.  

Our tip:  Bring pre-printed labels with all your information on them.  Then all you have to do is stick your label on the drawing slip.   This way you are not spending alot of your time entering the drawing(s), which would then allow you to spend more time obtaining information about the product(s) the vendors have to offer.

It can be very confusing when trying to decide where everyone should sit at your wedding.  Traditionally, the Groom sits to the right of the Bride, the Bestman sits to the left of the Bride, and the Maid of Honor sits to the right of the Groom  Breaking from traditional, you could seat women on the bride’s side and men on the groom’s.   If you are having a ring bearer and a flower girl, you could have them sit at the head table, or if their parents or grandparents are not in the wedding party, the ring bearer and flower girl may feel more comfortable sitting with them. 

Spouses of the bridal party, traditionally they do not sit at the head table, but there are times when a ‘spouse’ may not know anyone else at the wedding, so it is okay to sit them at the head table.

Parents of the Bride and Groom are assigned their own tables.  There may be times when divorced parents are involved, so you may need to have more than 2 tables.  Each set of parents can decide who they want to sit at their tables, such as Grandparents of the Bride or Groom, Aunts and Uncles, Godparents, or close friends.

Deciding on the guest sitting can be very stressful due to you wanting to make everyone happy.  There will be situations where some guests may not know other guests, or maybe they do not get along with some guests.  Do the best you can to sit your guests with other that they know and get along with, but that may not always be possible.  In the long run, the normal outcome, is that everyone will have a great time at your wedding no matter where they sit.

Thought I would write today about the pros of having a Seating Chart at your wedding versus having the traditional place cards. 

Seating Charts can be customized designed with whatever look you are trying to accomplish for your wedding, from engagement pictures in the background, a monogram, a theme (Holiday, Sports, Profession, and much more).  The chart lists your guest names and the table numbers that they are assigned to.  Chart size is 24 x 36, normally put in a frame for viewing and sits on a floor standing decorative easel. 

For the bride and groom (or even their parents or bridal party members), you no longer have to hand write the guest names and table numbers on the tiny traditional place cards, and then make sure that they are put in alphabetical order for the display table at the reception venue.

For the guests, they are able to walk up to the chart, find their name (which is in alphabetical order), and their table number.  No longer having to find their tiny place card (which is hard to read) among many and then taking that place card with them to their table, which then gets lost on the table or falls on the floor.

To get an idea of a custom designed seating chart, I am attaching one of the many charts that Sizemore Selectives have created for our clients.  This chart was created with a monogram of the couples last initial, along with their bridal party names being listed at the top.

Seating Charts versus Place Cards.  What is the best choice for your event?  When weighing your options, there are many reasons to choose a Seating Chart over Place Cards.  Place cards can be tedious to fill out, guests have difficulty finding their card, they take up room on the guest tables, and they ultimately wind up on the floor.

With a Seating Chart by Sizemore Selectives, the chart (size: 24 x 36), is displayed in a decorative frame and sits on a decorate floor easel.  Guests names are listed in alphabetical order, along with the table number they are assigned to.   Seating Charts can be designed to coordinate with the theme for your event, such as an engagement picture, a theme (sports, season, castles, etc.), or they can be very simple.  The ideas are endless.  After the wedding, the chart makes a great keepsake for the Bride and Groom.