Evening Guests/Table Planning

I think you would only need to do a table plan for the day guests. Can you ask you venue if they can keep the other table somewhere and then bring them in before the evening guests arrive? You may find that people will move about once they have their meal and mingle during the dancing I am not too sure about the timing of it so I don't think I could offer any pearls of wisdom there

Aw I wouldnt bother for the evening guests...cos id hope they would be on their feet the whole night!! If i were you, I woulld ask the venue if they could keeo the extra tables and chairs to the side and onl bring them in for the evening!

Thanks ladies ? The extra tables would have to be set up with fish bowls etc before the wedding along with the day guests, as we are having a company in to do our decor. x

Normally a venue will split up the top table and replace it with more round tables for the top table group and also for evening guests

I've never seen a table plan for evening guests and tbh wouldn't like that if I was a guest myself. It's good to mingle at night time. The evening tables at the weddings I've been to don't have the same centre pieces either. My centre pieces at my wedding were dotted about on different tables so they could still be seen but a few tables didn't have anything.

All the weddings I've been to have removed all the table decorations before the evening guests arrived anyway so you probably wouldn't need the fish bowls etc. Plus the evening bit is the fun bit after the formalities so be good to let people mingle and let their hair down.

We aren't having a table plan for the evening guests.

When i have been a guest in the evening, everyone seems to mingle together and just sit where-ever.

I am not doing a table plan for the guests.

Althought i am adding an extra table or two, and keeping the table centre pieces on the tables and adding them onto the extra tables so it all matches

x

This is what why we want to do it Suzie so that everything matches as you said. The 'spare' tables will just have the fish bowls with light up bases on. I only really want the seating plan for speeches, and food, plus it's not costing anymore to have a plan and table names etc. Like you say though people will hopefully mingle anyway so no-one will sit specified in the evening.

Thanks for the help ladies x

Forgot to answer your question about the timings. I don't think 90 mins is nearly enough, sorry. It does depend on how many speeches you are having but as a norm you'd have 3 speech and say at 20 mins each so an hour just for speeches. 10 mins for cake cutting and photographs, 5 mins for first dance and personally I'd have at least 45 mins for a buffet. It will take a while for 90 people to get through the buffet if you are having a big line of people and then some will go back for more.

Are you doing the first dance before evening guests though? Usually all the dancing starts after the evening guests have arrive.

For our evening guests we had extra tables added but I don't know how many. Our dinner started around 5pm and wasn't even finished for 7.30 but we had a 4 course meal.

I am not having a plan for the evening guests, although they are arriving early (6-6.30pm) and we are doing the cake cutting and first dance after they have arrived so that they get to see some of the day!

Plus we need to take out about 3 tables in the evening to make space for dancing!!!

Thanks for that PG ? And don't apologise, honestly any advise is much appreciated, that's why I asked you ladies, as I know you get an honest opinion.

I didn't really think much about when we would have a first dance, and also playing with the idea of having a father/daughter dance but still undecided. The wedding co-ordinator at the hotel suggested cutting the cake then having our first dance whilst the staff cut the cake for our guests and add put the final touches to the buffet, and then start the buffet. OH isn't happy with this idea though as he is hoping to get one of those big dance floor baloons which will pop near the end of our first dance, which will then hopefully will que the party to start!

Awww my head feels like it's going to explode lol x

My plan at the moment is looking like this...

12.30 - 1.15 Church Service

1.15 - 2.00 Photographs at the Church

2.00 - 2.45 Travel to Reception (Horse and Carriage - 4 miles = 40 minutes!!)

2.45 - 3.30 More Photographs, Reception Drinks and Mingling

3.30 - 5.00 Wedding Breakfast

5.00 - 6.00 Speeches

6.00 - 7.30 Mingling, drinking and chatting (6.30 Evening guests arrival)

(Cake cutting at some point here...)

7.30 First Dance - following by the start of the party!

9.30 Evening Buffet served

12.00 Music Finishes

12.30 Bar closes

I am not really sure yet if this will work!!!!!