Guests21 April 20265 min read
Seating plans without the arguments
Start with the tables nobody disputes, and leave the difficult ones until the numbers force your hand.
By Ama Kwarteng
Seating is the only part of planning where you are managing other people's feelings rather than logistics. Treat it that way and it gets much easier.
Do the easy tables first
Roughly two thirds of your room seats itself. University friends, work people, the cousins who always sit together. Place those first, quickly, without deliberating — momentum matters more than optimisation.
Then the hard ones
By the time you reach the genuinely awkward pairings, you'll have far fewer options, which sounds bad and is actually a relief. Constraints make the decision for you, and "there was nowhere else" is a complete answer.
Leave one seat spare per table if the venue allows. Someone always brings a partner you didn't count on.
