I can remember having to do the seating plan for our wedding and believe me, it is much easier said than done.
Firstly I got a very large piece of A1 paper and drew all the tables and whereabouts they would be positioned then wrote each guest's name around the table I thought they should be sat at. Bit of a stupid concept really because I was then sat there with the tippex moving people around to other tables and the whole thing started looking like a Tippex festival. So I scrapped that and put it in the bin.
I then took to my computer trying to design a seating plan where I could cut and paste people to a table. I think after four very frustrating hours (read: a bit of swearing and thumping the keyboard) sat at the computer I quickly gave up with that idea.
I then came up with my final system. I sat there with 95 pieces of little paper each one stating the name of a wedding guest and then tried to place them on circular tables I had carefully made. Blue Peter, eat your heart out! It wasn't long before I was losing my little bits of paper, having to go through my guest list and work out who was missing and re-writing them a new guest place on another tiny piece of paper.
Many evenings after work we would pull out the envelope of 95 names and 10 tables and sit together placing people at different tables trying to ensure we had got the perfect blend of people at each table. It was not the easiest of tasks and it was rather tricky using the method I had conjured up.
How I wish there was something like this back then……. 
A fancy-schmancy all singing and dancing seating plan online. Simple, easy and FREE!! You can find this brilliant tool of simplicity at Hitched.co.uk
The wedding planning couple can choose between circular, rectangular and square tables, and can name each table and specify the number of seats on each. The seats, once assigned to a guest, are colour coordinated, differentiating between male, female and child guests so it is clear to see who is sitting where. All a user has to do to change a place is to merely click and drag the guest to another seat.
A list of ‘accepted’ wedding guests, in coordination with the hitched wedding guest manager, runs alongside the virtual room so the bride and groom can see who they still have left to seat, and can filter between genders, ages, seated and unseated. This way the wedding planning couple can be totally sure that no one is going to be forgotten when it comes to the wedding breakfast.
A user can create more than one plan at a time to compare and contrast so they can be really sure of what is going to work best, and can print out the finished product or transfer it to an Excel spreadsheet.
The new table planner will transform one of the most difficult aspects of wedding planning, making it easy, instant and most importantly, enjoyable!
Thank you Hitched.co.uk for performing a miracle for the hair-tearing moment of compiling a seating plan.
Teresa x
