Seating Plan

Wedding is for your main family in the first row and others anywhere else they want to sit.

I would skip any sort of seating plan for the ceremony, signs like the one in your first post are usually used for ceremonies. However for the reception I strongly advise at least assigning tables to your guests. It cuts down on a lot of potential confusion and awkwardness, which is a great thing as a host to be able to do for your guests. There will be plenty of time for mingling during cocktail hour and after dinner. I went to a wedding without a seating plan and my (at the time) fiance and I ended up having to stand outside to eat. Table plans aren't too hard to put together, and WeddingWire even has a free Table Planner tool to help make it super quick and easy.

If it's all family and everyone gets along, it shouldn't be a problem... If there are people who don't know each other, or worse if there are people who don't get along, then you might not want to go without seating plan.

Please have a seating plan. I went to a wedding where i knew noone and no one sat with me and my husband which was so awkward. People just grabbed chairs from our table and added it to theirs. It was honestly the worst feeling.

I dont think we will have a seating plan. People will figure it out we will just make sure there are a couple extra tables available.

I've personally never been to a wedding that didn't have a seating plan. I think that if you're going to go without, then you might want to have a few extra tables than what would normally be needed. With no seating plan, couples aren't going to separate, so you may end up with a lot of tables with one seat left open. It could still totally work though, and might give a bit of a laid-back vibe to the night!

We aren't having a seating plan. We are going with a sweetheart table for FH and myself, and "reserved" tables for our parents and immediate family. Even our bridal party will be able to sit wherever they'd like.

With no seating plan, you run the risk of having couples sitting at separate tables from each other. People will tend to gravitate to sit with those who they know and this can mean tables with one empty seat. Having assigned seating helps avoid having this separation of couples. It also allows you to save tables closer to the bathroom/buffet/etc for those who can’t get around easily, like grandparents and such.

I've thought of doing it but then again I'm thinking, I can only seat 8 per table, and I don't want to separate anyone. So my guests can seat themselves except for the reserved table.