5 Ways to Efficiently Organize Guests at Your Wedding
The people that you invite to your wedding have all played a significant role in you or your future spouse’s life. Once you have your guest list created, your next step is to begin to find ways to make sure that everyone enjoys the event. However, weddings can unintentionally become chaotic affairs. Guests can get confused as to when and where to go, and can accidentally cause chaos and stress. It’s important, therefore, to know how best to manage the people you want to help you celebrate this momentous occasion. These tips will help you to efficiently organize everyone so that they all enjoy the opportunity to celebrate your vows. After all, the wedding may be for you, but your guests are there to support you as well.
Create Family Groupings
Keeping families together during the ceremony and reception is an easy way to keep everyone organized. Start by looking at your guest list to find family groups that include people who will want to sit near each other. For instance, most adult children will still want to sit with their parents, and putting everyone close to each other makes it easier for them to talk without having to raise their voices or go roaming across the room. Create family groupings and name cards for seats and tables to simplify the seating process and keep everyone organized.
Streamline the Parking Process
You also want to know that your guests are able to enjoy a stress-free parking experience. Since large crowds can quickly overwhelm a parking lot, your best bet to keep things organized is to work with an event valet parking management company. Your guests will feel like they are getting the red carpet treatment, and you’ll like knowing that no one has to battle it out with a family member or friend for a closer parking spot. This will streamline the parking process and let your guests focus on mingling and congratulating you instead of parking stress.
Discuss Seating Preferences with the Ushers
Most brides and grooms have specific preferences for who they want to sit in the first few rows of the audience. For instance, you and your spouse may want your mother’s front and center, or you may prefer to have a grandmother who doesn’t see well sitting in the front row. Talk about your preferences with the ushers so that they know exactly where everyone should go. You can also create a seating chart that the ushers can follow. It also helps to set up in advance signs directing family members to sit in specified areas and having someone in charge of seating arrangements.
Place Name Cards on the Tables
The reception area is another place where you need to think about the organization. Table assignments help everyone to instantly know where to sit without wandering awkwardly around the venue. This also helps the photographer to capture the best images of entire families at once. If you are working with an event crew, then create a table seating chart that shows exactly where each name card should be placed. It will also help to create a large poster or image to show your guests so they can locate their tables themselves as well. You could also print miniature cards showing their own seating arrangement so the guests can quickly locate their tables.
Provide a Portable Itinerary
Your guests will also be able to keep themselves organized when they know what happens next. This is especially important at large, all-day weddings where you may have multiple events happen. You can create a simple one-page wedding program that you hand out to each guest that details when you expect the reception to occur or where they need to gather for photos. This will help keep everyone in order.
There is something special about having everyone you love gathered in one place. Yet, things can get a little crazy if you do not plan for having a large crowd. As you plan your wedding, be sure to rely on professional help with organizing the guests’ arrival and seating arrangements so that you can relax and focus on the beauty of the day.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan
