Do the Bridesmaids and Groomsmen Need to Sit Together During the Wedding Reception?
Mapping out the seating chart for your wedding reception is always a complicated process. Whether you're trying to decide where to seat feuding friends or which tables to put family members at so no one feels left out, there's a lot you need to think about—including where your bridal party should sit. To figure out where you should seat your bridesmaids and groomsmen—including whether or not the need to be seated together—we asked a few wedding planners to shed some light on this somewhat confusing topic.
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Try to seat your bridesmaids and groomsmen together if you have a smaller bridal party.
"If you have a smaller bridal party (under three bridesmaids and three groomsmen), I say go for it," says expert wedding planner Jesse Tombs of Alison Events Planning + Design. Your bridal party is supposed to be a group of your most beloved friends and family, so sitting with them during the reception would be a treat for all, she adds.
Dates should always be seated with the bridal party.
"I prefer to have a smaller head table with the bride, groom, best man and his date, maid of honor and her date, and the immediate family of the bride and the groom, Tombs adds. And if your bridal party brought dates to the wedding, Tombs advises that they should be seated next to each other.
Be realistic about your seating arrangements.
"Bridal parties seem to be getting bigger and bigger, so I think it can be unrealistic for a lot of venues to accommodate tables that seat 30 plus people," says Jenna Lam, Creative Director of Jenna Lam Events. If you're worried that your bridal party will have hurt feelings that they are not with you on the wedding day, she recommends considering breaking it up by sitting with half of your party at the rehearsal dinner, and sitting with the other half at the wedding.
