THE WEDDING PLANNERS

An ‘Arresting’ Approach To Creating Wedding Table Plans

The great thing about wedding table plans is that there are virtually no rules. There may be guidelines, and recommendations, and plenty of people willing to offer you advice, but if you ever come across a rulebook for how to create wedding table plans, you can pretty much ignore most of it. Rulebooks make great confetti when combined with a good shredder.

But for some people, breaking rules might be considered inadvisable, which might have presented something of a problem for Gareth and Michelle, two police constables who tied the knot earlier this year. Gareth and Michelle met whilst assigned to the same station, and after several years decided to get married. Since they met in the police force, it seemed only right that when it came to thinking about wedding table plans, they decided to use the police as the theme for the reception and table planning.

Wedding table plans can be extremely challenging to create, and so you’d imagine that creating a themed one would be even more hard work. In fact this needn’t be the case, and PC savvy PC Williams, the Groom, decided to use an online table plan tool to make the job simpler.

The basic arrangement of tables and seats was created easily enough, and the list of guests uploaded so that they could be dragged and dropped into suitable seats. Any awkward combinations could simply be corrected with a few clicks. As the big day loomed they printed off the plan, and then used it as a template for creating a large artistic chart, which was made to look just like a crime scene board!

The title at the top didn’t read ‘The Wedding of Gareth and Michelle’, but ‘Crime Scene Investigation: The Case of Gareth & Michelle’, and photographs of relevant items in their lives were made to look as though they were attached to a white board, with arrows, circled points of interests and comments about the investigation. Each table was considered a separate part of the overall crime scene location map, with details of ‘witnesses’ or ’suspects’ labelled on each table.

They actually found that rather than wedding table plans being a chore, having a theme to work within turned it into something quite fun and exciting. The more they thought about it the more ideas they came up with, such as the individual place cards being made from black card, with a white ‘body outline’ printed, inside of which was each guest’s name.

This is just one of so many examples of how wedding table plans can be adapted to complement the lives and interests of the couple getting married. Once you’ve thought of an appropriate theme, it doesn’t take long before ideas start to come to you. The thing to do is to make a note of all these ideas, but leave them to one side for a while. Use a tool such as one of those online table planning tools which can be used to make the task of putting people into suitable seating locations much quicker and easier, and then use the finished table plan as a template for a more personalised, customised one nearer the time.

If you know an artistic friend, that’s a bonus, although there are artists who can be commissioned to carry out the work, and even colleges have art students who’ll be happy to add a little extra project to their CV. With a little imagination wedding table plans needn’t be boring to create and dull to read, but something to get people smiling and talking about your reception for a long time to come.

About the Author

Toptableplanner is one software solution that can save you hours when creating your wedding table plan. See the website for your completely free trial.

Virtual Wedding Guest Table

The Knot Seating Chart Organizer – Swirl $24.99 We've made a formidable task easy with our seating chart organizer from The Knot's very own "blue dot" and "swirl" collections. The kit includes a dry-erase board and marker with reusable vinyl chair and table stickers in assorted shapes and sizes. Ten planning sheets are included to make it easy to create your place cards.

The Knot Seating Chart Organizer – Blue Dot $24.99 We've made a formidable task easy with our seating chart organizer from The Knot's very own "blue dot" and "swirl" collections. The kit includes a dry-erase board and marker with reusable vinyl chair and table stickers in assorted shapes and sizes. Ten planning sheets are included to make it easy to create your place cards.

Planning a Wedding Reception at Home $18 Planning a Wedding Reception at Home

Pacon Classroom Seating Pocket Chart $12.62 Pacon 20340 Classroom Seating Pocket Chart

Reception Gift Card Holder $39 This gift card holder, shaped like a gift box in ornate metal scrollwork with shimmering metal bow and gift tag, functions as a chic table accessory as well as a place to receive your guests' cards. The reception gift card holder measures 10" x 10" and has a convenient drop-slot.

Personalized Reception Table Runner РFlourish $110 We love design that's simple, bold and stylish! This fabulous table runner features your names and the wedding date in a sleek font with accents to match your reception d̩cor. Choose cloud, aqua, sage, wisteria, petal pink, wineberry, plum, claret, tangerine, chocolate, black, or blueberry; specify your first names and the wedding date for personalization. 100% printable polyester table runner measures 54" w x 72" l. Instructions for use included.

Personalized Reception Table Runner – Elegance $110 Make your mark on reception tables with this lovely table runner. The design features your names and the wedding date; in the background, your new initial is emblazoned in a stylish script. Choose cloud, aqua, sage, wisteria, petal pink, wineberry, plum, claret, tangerine, chocolate, black, or blueberry ink for your initial. 100% printable polyester table runner measures 54" w x 72" l. Font styles as shown. Instructions for use included.

PACON CORPORATION PAC20340 SEATING CHART $25.43 Convenient notebook size chart with 35 pockets to organize seating or attendance records. Includes 100 blank name cards.

The Knot Colorado Weddings Magazine $4.95 The latest edition of The Knot Colorado Weddings Magazine is here! It's jam-packed with real wedding stories about Colorado couples just like you — go behind the scenes and steal ideas from their spectacular celebrations. It's also filled with up-to-the-minute wedding info and the top wedding resources in your area: Find your reception site, caterer, florist, and more — all in one place.<br><br>Get your copy of the Spring/Summer 2011 issue today!