The Long and Round of it All

     Let’s talk about table configurations. For years we have become accustomed to the circular tables or tables that seat 8 to 10 spread out around the room. This year I have had an influx of clients with a larger than usual guest list. As we have dealt with the issue of not having enough venue choices to accommodate the large number of guests we have had to find a way to make it work. Now we could cut out a few cousins, people your parents have asked you to invite that you haven’t seen in the past ten years or ask the kids to stay home. With all the room in the world, you might still want to do that! With that in mind let’s say you want to invite 500 people to party and you do have a budget.

     After visiting a few vineyards in Northern California and watching as they set up for large luncheons I discovered that most of the time they use long tables. When I say long, I mean they had somewhere between 30 and 50 guests along each side. These were very long tables but the longer they became it seemed the more beautiful and intimate they became as well. It seems that people seated next to each other really can move around well and converse without any issue. This allows for a very clean flow to the room as well as an increase in seating by at least a third. Another huge advantage to this type of set up is the amount of centerpieces and floral needed. We save an average of half when we set up this way. Because you are creating something beautiful in a smaller center area, there is a lot less product needed. We have seen this option at very formal events as well as casual garden settings and both are wonderful. I’ve known this all along but seemed to have forgotten in the years of running around in circles setting circular tables of eight.
   
     There are so many seating options depending on your event venue and guest size. Try to think about your style, the mood you want to create and the comfort of your pocketbook as well as the guests. We just want to make sure that we pass along ideas and information that we see changing a large number of events for the better. This is definitely one of those.

Happy planning!