Small wedding, long tables {decor}

We are having a small wedding. Only 40 guests, including the photographer and assistant. This makes it very intimate and we would like to keep it that way all through the reception as well. Another factor in our table seating is the fact that I have divorced parents. A traditional 'head table' was definitely out of the question for that reason....and in any case, it always seems so stuffy and anti-social to have main table.

That is why we decided to have one long table. It seems so festive in photos of weddings with long tables and the fact that we can fit our entire guest list onto one table makes it even better.
Here are some pictures of festive long tables.

younghouselove.com

From 100layercake.com

From oncewed.com

Its a great way to make everyone feel part of the crowd without having any awkward situations or that one odd table with all the people you didn't know what to do with. Trust me.your friends know when they end up at the table with the photographer and DJ that they were the odd ones out.

So last night we started the process of figuring out who will sit where. I didn't think it would need as much planning as it did. For 40 guests it took us almost an hour...I'd hate to know how bigger weddings figure this stuff out. Or you could just go with this option:

 But we felt that leaves too much to chance...and we'd like to know that we avoided any possible awkward situations. So we set about planning the seating.
I used this stunningly clever idea from somethingturquoise.com.

somethingturquoise.com

And just adapted it to one long rectangular table. I knew that each side would have 20 guests and that we would be seated on one side, in the middle. With certain people we wanted next to and in front of us we started working our way around the table.
There are a few things I found one should keep in mind about a long or rectangular table. Firstly, its good to keep in mind that the people sitting opposite from each other will also be part of the area of conversation. We worked on a radius of 3. One for the person directly opposite you and the person on either side of them will be 3. So you kind of have a conversation triangle to keep in mind. and of course the person or couple next to you also counts as your conversation area.

From iloveswmag.com

The other thing to keep in mind is the way the table's legs are. If its a regular wooden table with just four legs in each corner, its not a problem. But if you are using some kind of fold up table with legs that stand at an angle, it might be good to consider whether your guests will have enough leg room.
This will also depend on whether you put someone at the head of the table or not. We decided not to because leg room is always an issue then.

Nice corner table legs, no problem with leg room. Except for the person sitting at the end of the table. From:www.stylemepretty.com

Our tables have 'kick out' legs. From:blackframephotography.co.za

 Our venue has the tables in the top right picture. These pictures are form an actual event there and this was one of the few weddings that did not use tablecloths. (That's a whole other issue, with or without tablecloths?) So we need to either keep in mind where those legs are or just not worry about it? but definitely no one at the head of the table.

So although there are a lot of things to keep in mind when planning the seating for a long table, you have to keep in mind that its impossible to satisfy everyone always. Someone has to sit at the end, someone will be between a table leg and you wont always be able to put everyone you want close to each other. In the end, no-one will even notice all these things if they are having a good time right?

Good luck with your seating plans! :)