Seating plan and find-my-table for your reception

For small, casual receptions, open seating can work. For most Filipino weddings, with a presidential table, sponsors, several sides of the family and guests travelling from far away, a seating plan keeps the evening calmer. It also helps the caterer, who needs to know how many guests sit at each table and who has a special meal.

Wait until your RSVPs are in before you seat anyone. Planning from the invitation list means redoing the work every time someone declines. Keep a few spare seats across the room for the guest who confirms late.

Ask your venue for the number and shape of tables and how many people each one seats. Round tables of eight to ten are common, but every venue is different.

Decide where the presidential table goes, usually facing the guests and close to the stage. Some couples sit there with their parents and principal sponsors; others sit with the entourage, or at a sweetheart table for two. Then place family tables near the front, with lolos and lolas closest to the presidential table and away from the speakers.

Principal sponsors who are not at the presidential table should still sit near the front, since they are often called up for the programme. Seat the rest of the entourage together where they can reach the dance floor easily, and keep a table near the coordinator for your photographer, videographer and suppliers if your caterer is feeding them.

Guests enjoy the reception more when they sit with people they know. Build tables around groups, then fill the gaps.

• Keep households and couples together at the same table.
• Seat friends' groups together: college barkada, office friends, church friends.
• Put guests who know no one next to friendly, chatty people.
• Seat families with small children near an exit or the restroom.
• Keep guests with mobility needs close to the entrance and the buffet.

Every family has relatives who are better at separate tables. You do not need to explain your choices, just make them early and keep them consistent. If you are unsure, ask a parent privately rather than the whole family chat.

Avoid announcing the plan in advance. Changes are easier when only you, your coordinator and the caterer have seen the full list.

The traditional way is a seating chart on an easel at the entrance or escort cards on a table. Both work, but a crowd tends to form in front of the chart just as the reception starts, and guests at the back cannot see their names.

A find-my-table page solves this from the guest's own phone. Guests scan a QR code at the entrance or open your wedding website, type their name, and see their table number right away. You can still keep a printed chart for guests who prefer it.

Give your coordinator and one or two ushers the final plan, printed or on their phones. Number the tables clearly with signs that can be read from a distance. Late changes happen, so let one person own the list and make every update in the same place.

• Final seating plan shared with the coordinator and the caterer.
• Table numbers visible from the entrance.
• QR code or chart for finding tables at the entrance.
• Spare seats noted for late arrivals.

Seat your guests from the final RSVP list, put family and sponsors close to the front, and give guests a quick way to look up their own table. iKasal includes a seating planner and a find-my-table page on your wedding website, so guests search their name and walk straight to their seat.