USING AISLE PLANNER FOR YOUR SEATING CHART

We have heard from a lot of couples that seating charts are one of the most daunting parts of wedding planning. Luckily, we have your back! Whether you are doing assigned seats or assigned tables, Aisle Planner tools will help alleviate some of the stress that comes with assigning guests to the perfect table. Follow our step-by-step guide below to make guest assignments painless!

If your guests are not already uploaded into Aisle Planner, add them or send over your list so we can take care of it for you.

Once your guests are in the system, go to the "Guests" tab and select "Manage Groups". You will find several pre-loaded groups but we suggest making a lot more! The more groups you have the easier it will be to manage your seating.

After you have finished grouping your guests. Click on the "Layout and Seating" tab (note: this must be done from a computer or laptop)

Using the "Layout and Seating" page, select one of the chairs on the table you want to assign. In the bottom right corner, you will see tabs. Select "Guests". You will see your guest already broken up into your groups. You can then use these groups to form your tables. Simply drag and drop them into the empty slots in the section above.

TIPS & TRICKS

Try to get your seating plan done early. Start the minute you have you final guest count. It may take you a few tries to get it right, so be patient with yourself. You can always make always last-minute changes if you need to.

Group people based on how you know them and guests hobbies and interests. Don't stress about everyone at a table knowing each other! You can seat people that don't know each other together based on commonalities. This will spark conversation and allow your guest to meet new and exciting people!

Don't be afraid of splitting up large groups of friends evenly at different tables. Let's say you have a group of 10 friends, and your tables seat 8 people. Instead of splitting the group with 8 at one table and 2 at another, split them 4 and 4. Then fill the tables with people you think would get along or who have similar interests. That’s a great way for guests to meet each other and start great conversations.

Sit your family together, rather than with strangers. Especially if you have out of town guests. This is a great opportunity for everyone to catch up.

Don’t try to make everyone happy. Of course, you want your guests to have a good time, but you can only do so much. Try your best to ensure there are no “bad tables” in your wedding seating plan and your guests can deal for the short time they’ll be sitting down.

Seat older guests as far as possible from the DJ and make sure they are not under air ducts. This will help keep them happy and get them to stay at the wedding longer so you can enjoy their company.

Make sure guests with children are close to exits. This way, if they need to leave in a hurry, they don't feel distributive and can make a quick get-a-way.

Don't stress yourself out! Ideally, your guests should spend less than 90 minutes at their tables. They should have dinner, hear some heartfelt speeches, and then head to the dance floor. They should not be sitting at their tables all night long. The goal is to keep things moving. Keep this in mind when your making table arrangements!

If you have more than 75 guests, arrange the names on your escort cards or seating chart alphabetically instead of by table number. This will make it faster and easier for guests to find their names and head to their seats.

TELLING YOUR GUEST WHERE TO SIT

Seating Chart

Seating charts are essentially big posters that list every guest’s name along with their table assignment. Seating charts give tons of room for creativity, too, but make sure it’s large and posted high enough to see from a reasonable distance.

Escort Cards

Escort cards are those little cards at the entrance of the reception that have the name and table number of each guest that attends your wedding. An escort card will tell your guests which table to sit at but not their exact seat at that table. This gives your guests the freedom to decide where they’ll be sitting during the reception, with the structure of assigning them a table with guests that they enjoy.

If you want to add a little flare to your escort cards consider using a welcome drink or some type of sweet like a cookie as your escort card. You can also kill two birds with one stone by having your escort card double as your favors.

Place Cards

While escort cards and seating charts will tell your guests which table they’ll be sitting at, place cards will show their exact seat at the table. Place cards will be set on each plate at the table (or in front of the plate), while escort cards will only be printed at the entrance to the reception venue. To put it simply, escort cards and seating charts will get your guests to their table, while place cards will get them to their exact seats.

Bonus Tip! Tie your wedding décor together with an escort cards, a seating chart, or place cards that match your theme. Putting a little thought into how you are displaying these items can make a huge impact on the overall style of the wedding.