Last night we had a wedding that took a different approach to "table seating". It was out of the norm for us, and strangely, didn't throw us for a loop. We are glad that we embraced it because it worked perfectly!!
Let me back track, I tell each and every bride a formula for figuring out number of attendees for their upcoming event. Typically, a bride writes down each and every name in the family invited. Meaning, if they were inviting the Duggars, they would write down Jim Bob, Michelle, Joshua, Anna, Josie, Jill....you get my drift. And they would say there are 21 for that family. And they proceed to count up the entire list that way and get the number of people they are planning to have attend. Early on in the business, Chris, one of our owners who had a 20 year floral business told me to never look at those numbers. They are never correct. She gave me a formula that we now swear by and promise, will save you a lot of money and heart ache.
You take the number of invitations mailed out...(so the physical paper invitations that you put a stamp on...the Duggars would have received ONE, not 21....) double that number, and then take 60%. WITHOUT FAIL, those numbers are typically within 10 people. Each and EVERY bride says...I know my friends, I know my family...they will all come. Well, this is where trust us...we see it each and every week. They do NOT all come. And if you are paying for your space/food based on per person, I am saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Trust me...if I could share one thing, this is it!!! This will save you so much when looking at event spaces, and cost for food. We have easily 5 calls a week saying..."we will have 350 people...we will have 500 people..." And if we can get them to trust us, to really understand, once it comes down to it, they really are looking at about 200 people if you are thinking 350. So many brides eliminate their venus choices because they think that their party is too big for the space.
So, this wedding mailed out 166 invitations, and this bride was delightful and actually trusted us. She believed we knew our job...(strange idea I know...) So by our calculations, we should have around 199 people in attendance. Now, we didn't/couldn't really count them, but if I had to guess, I would guess 190-200 people showed up. Brilliant!! :) What they wanted to do what their favorite things and finger foods. They did cheese, fruits, dips...food stations that encourage people to get up and move around. So instead of setting up the room for 199 people like we typically would, they wanted us to set up the room for about 100....half of the expected people to actually encourage people to mingle...to talk, walk around, and have fun!! And the verdict is.....IT WORKED!!! As you can see below, people were all having a ball! And strangely, only ONE person asked for more chairs. And we politely told them at the couple request, the room is seated according to their likes because they wanted people to mingle. She shrugged and went on...and later came back and said "I get it!!".
We love outside the box thinking and are willing to try something once. If a major bump, we strongly suggest wedding parties to do other ways. But watching from the outside, people truly enjoyed this wedding. They didn't sit at their tables for two hours fairly quiet and wait for the party to get started, it basically started the minute they walked into the room. Music was up a bit from the start, but the energy level was multiplied without a doubt.
So when planning your event, 1) trust the professional....they have a job and know how to do it. 2) convey the feel you want for your event. If it is a quiet, sit down dinner, or a fun night to remember, let the professional know. 3) maybe try doing out of the norm and not head towards your typical beef and chicken dinner with green beans and potatoes and find things you love and kick off your event/wedding right...and make it a true celebration!!
Let me back track, I tell each and every bride a formula for figuring out number of attendees for their upcoming event. Typically, a bride writes down each and every name in the family invited. Meaning, if they were inviting the Duggars, they would write down Jim Bob, Michelle, Joshua, Anna, Josie, Jill....you get my drift. And they would say there are 21 for that family. And they proceed to count up the entire list that way and get the number of people they are planning to have attend. Early on in the business, Chris, one of our owners who had a 20 year floral business told me to never look at those numbers. They are never correct. She gave me a formula that we now swear by and promise, will save you a lot of money and heart ache.
You take the number of invitations mailed out...(so the physical paper invitations that you put a stamp on...the Duggars would have received ONE, not 21....) double that number, and then take 60%. WITHOUT FAIL, those numbers are typically within 10 people. Each and EVERY bride says...I know my friends, I know my family...they will all come. Well, this is where trust us...we see it each and every week. They do NOT all come. And if you are paying for your space/food based on per person, I am saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Trust me...if I could share one thing, this is it!!! This will save you so much when looking at event spaces, and cost for food. We have easily 5 calls a week saying..."we will have 350 people...we will have 500 people..." And if we can get them to trust us, to really understand, once it comes down to it, they really are looking at about 200 people if you are thinking 350. So many brides eliminate their venus choices because they think that their party is too big for the space.
So, this wedding mailed out 166 invitations, and this bride was delightful and actually trusted us. She believed we knew our job...(strange idea I know...) So by our calculations, we should have around 199 people in attendance. Now, we didn't/couldn't really count them, but if I had to guess, I would guess 190-200 people showed up. Brilliant!! :) What they wanted to do what their favorite things and finger foods. They did cheese, fruits, dips...food stations that encourage people to get up and move around. So instead of setting up the room for 199 people like we typically would, they wanted us to set up the room for about 100....half of the expected people to actually encourage people to mingle...to talk, walk around, and have fun!! And the verdict is.....IT WORKED!!! As you can see below, people were all having a ball! And strangely, only ONE person asked for more chairs. And we politely told them at the couple request, the room is seated according to their likes because they wanted people to mingle. She shrugged and went on...and later came back and said "I get it!!".
We love outside the box thinking and are willing to try something once. If a major bump, we strongly suggest wedding parties to do other ways. But watching from the outside, people truly enjoyed this wedding. They didn't sit at their tables for two hours fairly quiet and wait for the party to get started, it basically started the minute they walked into the room. Music was up a bit from the start, but the energy level was multiplied without a doubt.
So when planning your event, 1) trust the professional....they have a job and know how to do it. 2) convey the feel you want for your event. If it is a quiet, sit down dinner, or a fun night to remember, let the professional know. 3) maybe try doing out of the norm and not head towards your typical beef and chicken dinner with green beans and potatoes and find things you love and kick off your event/wedding right...and make it a true celebration!!
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