Take a Seat

How many planners have ever had to create a seating chart for an event? The wedding planners in the room are probably going to be the fist to raise their hands, however, weddings aren’t the only events where you might do this. I’ve worked with corporate dinner functions where the client has asked for assigned seating to ensure people from different departments or divisions or locations are intentionally mixed together. This way, they get to meet some new faces and are outside the comfort zone of their friends. Depending on the size of the guest list, creating a seating chart can be quite an undertaking. Add the fact that people are selecting their main dish, and the time it takes to finalize the details increases.

Most attendees don’t appreciate the time and effort that goes into putting a seating chart together, especially when you have to ensure that people from the same department or location are not seated at the same table. Once that layer is considered, it is also kind to seat anyone not attending with their spouse or significant other with at least one other dateless attendee of the same gender. This way they don’t feel like a third wheel during the conversations, and by seating two people of the same gender at the same table, nobody can start random office gossip about two people dating who are not.

Depending on the desires of the event host, you may want to mix generations together, or you may be asked to attempt to keep like-generations at the same table. People in the same age and stage of life may have commonalities and therefore more to talk about; this table has young parents all with small children, that table has several empty-nesters, and still another has those who are new to the workforce. However, if the event host is interested in breaking down generational barriers, seating a combination of ages together will be another layer of importance in the planning process.

Still another consideration is leadership versus staff members. How much intermingling does the event host want between management and those they manage? I have seated some events where the host intentionally wants at least one leadership couple at each table so employees get to know and have time to interact with someone of influence they may normally never see. On the flip side, having younger employees sitting with upper management can feel intimidating and unless the manager is a great conversationalist, the evening can be incredibly uncomfortable for everyone in attendance.

Once all of the layers have been considered, the event host has to have a final look at the seating assignments if they have not been involved in making them. There will inevitably be interpersonal dynamics or office politics that should be considered when seating people next to each other to avoid a potentially uncomfortable scene from erupting.

Once your perfectly appointed seating chart is complete, if changes need to be made, there is a domino effect of changes to ensure you still have different departments, generations, levels of management, and personalities all at the same table. Every time. Every time someone needs to cancel. Every time someone’s plans have changed and now they can attend. Every time someone RSVPs late. Every time someone’s spouse can’t attend or now can attend.

Plus, if the attendees have made their dinner selection; i.e. chicken, beef, or salmon, you also have to tell the venue how many of each meal is needed at each table by number. For example, if you have eight people at table number one, you would let the venue know that this table needs two chicken, two beef, and four salmon, one of which is gluten-free. Then, create place cards with table and meal assignments so the attendees know where to sit and the waitstaff knows what to serve to whom.

It’s a dance. There’s a fine line between when to start this work so there’s enough time to get everyone assigned to a seat, have it reviewed, and get the information to the venue by their guarantee date, and starting late enough that you’re not constantly making changes.

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