The table planner is the one thing you can guarantee guests will scrutinise at your wedding reception. So, it’s no surprise that more and more couples are moving away from a simple paper seating plan, and taking the opportunity to express their creativity and personality in ways that won’t be missed.
Whether your wedding style is vintage, retro, classic, fun, or futuristic there are table plan options to fit every theme. Here are some of my current favourites:
1. Reflective luxury
A full-length, antique mirror, engraved with your seating plan, provides a truly luxurious twist on the traditional paper planner. Of course, the detailed work involved in its creation doesn’t allow for any last minute changes, but it is an option that you can take home and hang on your wall as a lasting memento of your big day. For a vintage budget alternative that looks amazing, you can use an old framed, window pane and written on in white pen.
2. Double duty
All-in-one favours and table planners are proving increasingly popular, particularly at Christmas, when you can have mini-wrapped presents for each guest, with a tag including their name and table number. Jo Malone candles and gifts are a gorgeous luxury option, but any gift wrapped beautifully and in keeping with your theme and colour scheme will look amazing and make your guests feel appreciated.
3. Perfect pair
Another great option for winter weddings is to peg a glove to a decorated board. Attach a tag with the guest’s name and table number. On getting to the table they will find the matching glove to make a pair. Choose a soft leather glove for added luxury or coloured mittens for cosy appeal.
4. Find the key
A painted wooden door covered in personalised keys and keyrings looks fabulous and makes for wonderful keepsakes. Again there is something to suit every budget and taste. For example, one client who loves racing cars chose to give each guest a coveted Lamborghini keyring sourced specially from Italy.
5. Fairground fun
Starting the evening with a game is a great way to get guests mixing. Hook-a-duck is a fairground favourite that is easily adapted to a sitting duck interactive seating plan. The idea is that guests need to hook the duck with their name on to find out where to sit. Of course your guests might have to catch a few ducks before they find the one with their name on it, but that’s all part of the fun.
6. Superhero welcome
Star Wars and Lego figures appeal to the child inside all of us. There are so many characters to choose from now that you could line them up on a table next to name cards without any two guests having the same. When all together the effect is fun and great for wedding parties with separate tables for little ones.
7. Making memories
Sharing your wedding day is about celebrating and creating happy memories with your family and friends. It can also be a time to reminisce over fun times together. A photo-board is always a great conversation starter and you can incorporate this into your table-plan by printing Polaroid-style photographs of your guests with their name and table number on the white of the photo. This works well with childhood pictures or images that reflect a particular memory that everyone can enjoy sharing.