When planning the seating arrangement for an engagement party, it is recommended to choose assigned seating. It provides your event a sophisticated touch and feels that everyone desires. Whether you have a formal or a less formal party, it is recommended to choose assigned seating, as people are likely to express concerns. For one, it will prevent your guests from competing for the best view of the couple when they enter the banquet hall. It can also prevent someone from getting seating next to a cousin they are not on the best of terms with.
There are many more benefits of using place cards for a wedding party. In fact, this seating strategy can prove to be a lifesaver.
What is Assigned Seating?
Assigned seating involves assigning a designated guest to each place setting and chair. It involves using place cards to identify where every guest will be setting. Some of the key benefits of choosing this arrangement are as follows:
- Lesser confusion about where your guests should sit
- Greater control during party check-in
- Ability to separate guests who may not be on good terms
- Ability to track the guests that have arrived, so that the party can start on time
- Minimizes any confusion about food and drink service
- Allows you to track guests with dietary restrictions or food allergies
Benefits of Choosing Assigned Seating
Here are 3 main reasons for choosing assigned seating for an engagement party:
1. Better Management of Guest Experience
A major benefit of assigned seating is that it provides you total control over the decision of who will sit where. As mentioned above, most families will have a few sets of relatives or friends who cannot stand each other. Using place cards helps eliminate any potential chaos in your party. Even if it is required to seat such relatives at the same table, you can be careful in ensuring their seats are not side by side.
2. Seamless Logistics
The use of assigned seating can help add a touch of flawlessness to a wedding. It is for this reason that it is regularly used for formal events. Using place cards, you are able to personalize every individual space. It provides a more polished and seamless look and feel to the table design.
While all this is good from the aesthetic perspective, it can mean more benefits logistically. This is especially the case when you have planned a plated dinner and each guest’s selections are noted.
3. Streamlined Event Organization
If you do not use place cards, it can be difficult to decide who is sitting where especially when the guests arriving at the table don’t know each other. With assigned seating, you eliminate all the guesswork and bring organization to how the seating is managed.
Open seating plans can work only when a party has guests who are very easygoing. It is recommended to start planning the seating arrangement for an engagement party even before you start sending out the engagement invitation. So, it can become part of the process of creating the list of people you will be inviting for the event.