Seating everyone!!

kevandkeira

Sorry but this might be a long post......
We decided straight away when planning our wedding that we didn't want day/evening guests, we wanted everyone to be there for the whole wedding. OH's family is huge (80) & they are all close & see each other regularly for parties etc, adding my family plus us brings our numbers up to 130. As our numbers are high we decided to get married later so that we only need to provide 1 main meal, which will be a buffet to keep costs down.

Our venue seats 120 for the day & has a maximum capacity of 200 for the evening, our problem is that we have 130 guests which will be there for the whole day, the owner has told us that it shouldn't be a problem squeezing the extra 10 in. This isn't bothering me too much but what is is what happens when some tables are cleared away to make room for the dance floor, there will probably be about 30 - 40 people without a table. Also where do the guests go when the tables are being put away, I would hate for our guests to be tossed off of their table as their isn't room for it.

Our planned schedule was church wedding onto the reception venue gardens for photos, inside for a buffet/speeches & then for some tables to be cleared for the dancing to begin. I'm now wondering if we should swap the buffet & photo's around, that way after eating we can ask our guests to join us in the garden for photo's, meaning that the tables can be cleared of food & the excess tables to be packed away. As a guest would you be annoyed if your table/chair suddenly dissapeared??

Why does wedding planning have to be so stressful :mad:

lika_86

At a wedding I went to where our table was moved for the dancefloor, the seats were then put around the edge of the room s we just moved over to there to continue chatting. I'd be miffed if my chair disappeared entirely though!

74jax

So there's 130 for the day, then the venue clears tables etc to change the room to then accommodate 200 for the evening?

I think this is fine, most will retire to the bar, mingle etc and will expect the room to be changed.

The venue may even announce to retire to the bar whilst the room is changed.

spam88

It's perfectly normal for tables to be removed for the evening - don't panic! They get moved around so everyone's chucked off their tables, so it's not like some peoples tables are still there and others' aren't. Not everyone sits down in the evening so you don't need enough seats for everyone - people are dancing, standing round the bar etc.

As for where your guests go, does your venue have a separate area they'll be moved to? We have a little bar area we'll all move into while the room's being changed, or possibly down to the beach for some more photos.

I wouldn't change your order, you want the photos early on while you're all still looking your best!