CREATE A SEATING MAP

Creating a seating map isn’t 100% necessary for your wedding, but it does add a little panache, and it’s something fun that can help your guests find where they’re parking for a few hours.  This is especially helpful for weddings where there are several tables – in our case 28.  Sometimes the table numbers are difficult to spot, so we did this as a courtesy.

I created this map using Microsoft Word.  I laid out the wine barrels along the three sides, showed where the band, dance floor and bar was located, in addition to mapping out all the tables.  We had a mix of rounds and kings to give the layout a different look.  

For each table, not only did we give them numbers, we also named them by different nicknames we have for our dog.  There were even more than 28 – we just had to choose our faves.  Using double-sided Tolsby frames from Ikea for $.99/ea, we had a photo of our dog on one side with the table number and his nickname on the reverse.  I think folks enjoyed it.  Wouldn’t you want to be sitting at a table called “Mr. Pooman” or “Cutie Pie in the Sky?”  I would!  (Don't worry, I didn't sit family at the Mr. Pooman table.  I'm not that crazy.)

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30151035/

I included the photo from each individual frame on the large seating map as well, giving guests another way to recognize their tables.  Our pup wasn’t allowed at the church for the ceremony, so we had him at the sitter’s all weekend.  It depressed the hell out of us to not include him in our special day, but he definitely played a huge role without physically being there =)