It can be challenging to plan the floor plan / layout of your wedding reception. A good table set up for your wedding will encourage mingling, conversation, and a more fun celebration. No matter where you have your wedding, you need to figure out your floor plan once you know who is coming.

The floor plan will help you determine who sits where and how you place the dance floor, the stage, your bar, and lots more. This plan will also have a significant impact on your reception because it will determine the evening’s flow. It is usually best to organize the space in a way that adequately utilizes it, showcases the beauty of the venue, and is comfortable for everyone.

Worried about the amount of work involved already? Don’t be, that’s why we’re here to help. In this article, we discuss how to make your wedding reception floor plan layout.

A Summary

When planning your wedding reception floor plan layout, you should keep the following few points in mind:

• Start with your dance floor
• You and your partner should be at the focal point
• The table shape is important
• Pay attention to your VIPs
• Highlight Your Bar
• And remember your cocktail Hour (Couples tend to forget this one)

The Breakdown

• The First Thing to Plan Is Your Dance Floor

Decide where you are going to position the dance floor. Most established venues will already have some great suggestions on where to put your dancefloor, but if you’re working with a place that hasn’t seen many weddings, you’ll have to be creative. If the room is rectangular, there are two popular options you could go with:

You could center the dance floor lengthwise, with the dance floor and stage for the band or DJ against one of the room’s long walls (this is usually directly across from the entrance). You could also place the dance floor at one end of the room, centered and backed up against one of the room’s short walls.

• Choose Your Tables

Next is to decide what shape and size of tables you want at your wedding. You also have to decide on things like if you’ll be having a sweetheart table for just the two of you or you’ll have a big head table with your wedding party. Whatever you decide, ensure that you are both at the focal point and are visible to your guests when making your floor plan. It would help if you also decided how many of your guests can fit on each of your tables. This will help you determine how many tables you’ll need overall.

• Arrange Your Tables

Once you’ve decided what kind of table you’ll be using and how many, it’s time to arrange them. Remember that you need to be in the best seats and have the most excellent view. From that point, you can arrange the remaining tables as symmetrically as possible. You can either form a U shape around your dancefloor or fill one space at the end while your dancefloor is at the other end.

• Seat Your VIPs

Your immediate families should sit as close to you as possible at your reception. Your elderly guests, on the other hand, should be placed as far as possible form the band/DJ and the speakers. Your friends can have the other not too desirable sitting positions since they’ll most likely be spending the whole night on the dancefloor.

• Your Bar

When planning a bar for your wedding, it’s usually a great idea to have one bar and two bartenders for every 100 guests at your reception. If you have more guests and end up having more bars, as a result, do your best to spread them out to avoid congestion. It’s also best to keep them away from the entrance so people don’t congregate at the entrance.

• Cocktail Hour

Paying attention to your cocktail hour depends on whether you’ll have your cocktails in the same space as your wedding reception. If you are, the best area for the cocktail tables is by your bars, but with enough space, for your guests to move around and mingle. They can be at the edge of your dancefloors so that your guests can put down their drinks and do a jig when their favorite song comes on.

If you book your services with V&V Wedding Planning and Coordination you will have access to our planning tool where I will help you to create your floor plans and then easily include your guest list, with the drag and drop system 😉

Once you have your floor plan ready you can start working on your seating chart. Read our previous post How-to make my wedding seating chart to learn how 😉

If you’d like us to help you plan your wedding…

And don’t forget to pin your favorite photos from this shoot to Pinterest!

Just hover over any photo and use the red “save” button to add your faves to your wedding photos or photography Pinterest boards!

Just hover over any photo and use the red “save” button to add your faves to your wedding photos or photography Pinterest boards!