Help with table planning....

You will need to have tables with enough seats, but you don't have to do a table plan. We went to a wedding where they had no set plan, people just picked a table and sat. They had a BBQ and they had a waiter come to each table and tell them they could go up, which controlled the flow and didn't mean there was a long queue. Depends on the time of your wedding, if it is late afternoon then you could get away without doing canopies and let your eve guests know you will be providing food at about 7.30 as usually if you are having a meal earlier food would come out about 9. Simple decs on the tables like storm lanterns with candles would work, we are doing this with coloured sand in the bottom to match our colour scheme if you don't want to go OTT and just make them look less bare.

We're having fish and chips and want a similar, laid back feel. I think we're having a sweetheart table for us then long tables with flowers on to decorate but no seating plan. I'm a little worried it will look bare too as no need for set tables either.