How many is too many on a top table?

No it's fine.. I've seen in excess of 15 on the top table so 10 is fine as long as your venue can accommodate it. X

I'll be watching this thread with interest because I have the same problem.

We were talking about it the other day and think that we have too many people too. To make things 'fair' we would have to have me, OH, my brother (man of honour), his best man, my mum, her partner, his mum, his step-dad, his dad, his step-mum, my grandma and my grandad (he's giving me away so is in fatherly role for the day). 12 is just ridiculous though in my opinion!

My top table is 7 and so are our other three tables so a bit of a nightmare, the family have had too many children and SOs. Very inconsiderate of them I reckon lol. I really wouldn't worry about an uneven top table. There are other things to worry about, but it's not the norm for siblings to be on the top table unless they are the best man

I think you really need to speak to the venue as the next step. Some venues are limited to how long they can have the top table.

I think 10 is fine as long as your venue is happy with that. Ours will be 11 (would have been 10 but we can't seat a 2 year old separately from his parents!) But I also think that you can perfectly justify having one bridesmaid on your top table and not the other when one is family.

My top table is family only, which means that my BM won't be there, but my SIL who isn't part of the bridal party will.

Broganj - we're having 12 too! To be honest though, I'd never even thought about how many was too many, I've been to weddings with similar numbers (11 bridal party plus minister and his wife to give 13 (wouldn't have been happy with that myself, call me superstitious)) and it didn't look odd in any way - it was nice to see the full bridal parry there together! X

I will be watching this with interest! My mum wants my sister at the head table but she has a husband & 2 children which is going to bulk up the numbers! Plus if we did that OH family may feel left out..we will end up with half of the guests on it x

Lucy - stand firm hun. Your sister wouldn't normally be on the top table unless she's fulfilling a key role. Were you on her top table? You would normally move someone from the top table so they can sit with their family rather than bring their family up. I've been to several weddings where my OH, past and present, have had key roles as either Best Man or father of the bride, meaning they're rightly on the top table, but I've been sat with other guests as is only right. Young children can make things more difficult, but the norm is the family is seated together but off the top table.

I don't think 10 on the top table is too many. A wedding I'm bridesmaid for in August has a top table of 9, so not much different.

However...

I do also agree with this. I'm having 4 bridesmaids and it would probably be too much to put on the top table (and look super lopsided too). One of them is my sister, so she will be on the top table, and the others will be with their partners/family.

Our table will be lopsided too (a 4 / 6 split). I realised that we, as the couple, wouldn't be dead centre, but I didn't think that mattered really. I certainly wasn't going to alter the arrangement of who sits where, to try and centralise us.

We have the MoH and BM on the top table as they are a sister/brother. The others up there are immediate family too (inc parents).

All the other bridesmaids and groomsmen are dotted around and about the place, as they are sitting with their own partners and their own groups of friends. Our main priority is having ALL of our guests sitting with their own friends, and this included the wedding party members. For us, we don't like the forced-small-talk-with-strangers thing, so didn't want to put anyone else through that.

I feel the pain of this from a number of ways ... H2Bs side - Mum Dad Stepmum Bestman 1 and Bestman 2. My side Mum Dad Bridesmaid 1 and Bridesmaid 2 (both my sisters) so uneven numbers on the top table. I really want even numbers on the table so H2B and I can sit central to the table. H2B thinks 11 is too many and thinks the bridesmaids should sit elsewhere creating a 3/6 split. This could create my most bridezilla moment because at the moment I don't really have solution.

I have 10 on my top table

Me, OH, my mum, stepdad, OH mum and dad, 2 bridesmaids, best man and our son :-)

Thanks for the replies, I feel better now knowing 10 may not be too many on a top table!

Im having 10. The original line up you suggested, plus our two children. I have 3 bm's and although officially no 'chief' I will have my sister as df's best man is his brother, so makes sense (plus my other bm is the best mans ex so makes it awkward!) I have been to a wedding where two bm's were at the top table, plus the bm boyfriend, which I found a bit odd to be honest.

Mine's not definate yet, as were still a year away, but there will be 9 on it. ME OH, our parents, BM and 2 Bridesmaids. I have 5 bridesmaids and only 2 will be on top table, ones my sister and other is best friend from home. The other three will be there with their partners, the ushers, and one has 3 children so i'll put them all together on another table, or split over two with our other friends (the MUA and TOG).