Best Floor Plan Layouts For A Smaller Indoor Wedding

It’s time to decide how you will accommodate your guests for the reception dinner at your upcoming wedding! Since you have elected to have a smaller indoor wedding, you won’t have to worry about the weather, and you can enjoy a cozy, comfortable celebration with your guests. Here are a few ideas to help you start selecting the best floor plan layouts for your smaller indoor wedding. 

Venue Visit 

First, visit the space with your wedding coordinator or planner. You may have been to the venue before, but this time you’re looking more carefully at the available space and design of the room. If you can’t make an extra trip to the venue due to time constraints or for some other reason, your contact at the venue can provide a sample floor plan that the venue has prepared for other guests with similar weddings. 

Round Tables 

One popular layout consists of the dance floor in the center of the room, with the bride and groom’s table at the head of the room. As you face the couple’s table, the cake table is the right and the table for cards is to the left. Round tables seating six guests flank the dance floor on either side. Across the dance floor, opposite to the head table, are the tables with food and beverages. 

Parallel Plan 

Another possible layout could feature longer, rectangular tables that run parallel to the dance floor and seat larger numbers of guests, as many as eight or ten at a table. You could keep the couple’s table at the head of the room with the buffet table across from it. 

Mix-and-Match 

Some people like to intersperse circular tables with rectangular ones for more visual variety. The circular tables could seat 6-8 guests, while the rectangular ones seat ten guests. This offers you a little more flexibility as you are planning your seating chart. Think of each table as its own miniature dinner party, and place guests with others of similar ages or tastes. 

Strategic Spacing 

Want to make the reception feel even more cozy and intimate? Choose smaller round tables with just four or five guests at each. The buffet can go at the head of the room, while the head table is placed on one side. The cake table could be in a corner of the room, still in view but tucked out of the way. This way, the bride and groom have the opportunity to greet guests as they make their way across the space to cut the cake later in the evening. 

Circle Time 

If you’re having the wedding reception in a wide, open space without architectural features like a pre-defined dance floor, try placing the bride and groom’s large round table in the center. Surround it with the other tables, with the buffet to the side and the dance floor and DJ at one end of the space. 

Benefits of a Smaller Indoor Wedding Venue 

Some smaller indoor wedding venues may only be able to accommodate a couple of different types of floor plans because of limited space or certain design features within the ballroom. This can actually be a blessing in disguise since it cuts down on the number of options you have to consider. With so many decisions to make during the wedding planning phase, you’ll probably appreciate having a smaller set of options from which to choose.  

How To Ensure You Don’t Miss Anyone Important At Your Intimate Wedding

You’re having a small, intimate wedding— but maybe you’re still concerned about the number of guests. How will you ever have time to talk to them all? What if you skip over someone without intending to? Find out how to ensure you don’t miss anyone important at your intimate wedding. 

A Receiving Line 

One way to make sure that you speak to everyone is to have a receiving line. After the ceremony, you and your new spouse stand at the exit of the ceremony space and greet each person as they are leaving. If you speak to each person for only 10 seconds, you’ll get through six people in about a minute. If you have 100 guests, that’s over 15 minutes. Keep time constraints in mind if you select this method of greeting your guests. 

If you’re having your intimate wedding outdoors, there’s a chance that people might find another way out or slip past you, making it difficult to tell if you really greeted everyone. If you choose to have a receiving line, ask your wedding coordinator to arrange the layout so that people are channeled towards you as they leave the ceremony area. 

A Cocktail Hour 

Take your photos in advance so you don’t have to snap too many shots right after the ceremony. This way, you can go directly to a cocktail hour with your guests. Enjoy drinks and mingle with everyone at your intimate wedding. Bridal organizers suggest that you and your spouse stay together; that way, you can speak to more people at once. 

A Tour of the Tables 

At the reception, you’ll want to have some time to eat and drink at your own table; but after you have eaten something yourself, you and your new spouse can wander through the reception space, stopping by tables to visit for a few minutes. This can be a time-saving method, since you don’t have to find and greet each person separately. Don’t forget to take photos with out-of-town guests or VIP guests while you’re doing your table tour!

A Partner Swap on the Dance Floor 

Dancing with your new spouse is probably at the top of your to-do list for the evening, but make a little time for other dance partners as well! It’s a great way to have fun and connect with relatives, friends, and out-of-town guests. Don’t forget to dance with the smaller guests at the party, too. Little ones love being swept into the fun to dance with the bride or groom. 

At your wedding, every guest is important, from the oldest great-grandparent to the smallest member of the family. Just remember that you don’t have to have a long conversation with everyone! It’s primarily about saying hello and acknowledging the people who set aside time to celebrate your big life event. With a little strategy and a lot of smiles, you can ensure that everyone feels valued and welcome at your intimate wedding.  

7 Tips For A Traditional Wedding That Feels Elegant, Not Dated

Tradition doesn’t have to mean sameness. You can have a traditional wedding that feels elegant without being old-fashioned— a wedding that speaks to your personality as a couple. It can retain the traditional vows, feature a medium-sized bridal party, and take place at a traditional venue, while still showing off the classy individuality that represents the two of you. Get some tips for planning a traditional wedding that feels elegant, not dated. 

Tip #1. Embrace Minimalism 

An elegant wedding doesn’t have to be extravagant. Sometimes, simplicity is actually the key to elegance. As you select the decor, centerpieces, and other options for your wedding, choose modern options that emphasize quality over quantity. Your guests will notice and appreciate your good taste. 

Tip #2. Wear Any Dress You Like 

Gone are the days when brides had to wear long white dresses. Today, you can wear any fancy dress you like, white or not. Many women still opt for white, silver, or ivory, but add colorful elements like patterns, sashes, ribbons, and dyed lace. Other brides play with length and style to add a modern twist to their traditional wedding.  Any dress that makes you feel beautiful and elegant is the right choice for your wedding. 

Tip #3. Choose a Fresh Color Scheme 

Your wedding colors can be elegant without being boring. Try plum, sage, and nude with white; or opt for rose gold, rich wine red, taupe, and champagne hues. White and black, along with violet and winter white, is a truly sophisticated choice, while the combination of peach, silver, coral, and strawberry works well for a fall or winter wedding. Experiment with raspberry, blush, blue, and classic gray. Keep exploring the color options until you find one that speaks to you; just be sure it includes at least one rich, vivid color that you can play up when you need to modernize an element of the wedding. 

Tip #4. Include New Music 

When you select the pieces for your band or DJ to play at the reception, make sure that you mix the oldies with some fresh, fun music. Your music choices for the ceremony could also be new songs from this year or the year before, rather than the expected selections such as Pachelbel’s Canon in D or the traditional wedding march. You don’t necessarily have to choose hip-hop, air pop, or electro rock, but you can find fresh pieces that fit the atmosphere you want to create. Keeping the music current is one way to make sure that your traditional wedding feels elegant, not dated. 

Tip #5. Use Modern Lighting Techniques 

Most wedding venues, even smaller traditional ones, have a number of different lighting options. Experiment with lighting patterns, intensities, and colors until you find one that strikes the right blend of modernity and elegance. 

Tip #6. Slip in Some Classic Embellishments

You can use traditional accessories like crystals, lace, glassware, and pearls, but incorporate them in an unusual way. Keep your embellishments sparse and streamlined rather than fussy, and you’ll find that these old-fashioned decor items can become just as of-the-moment as the rustic farmhouse-style pieces that modern decorators love. 

Tip #7. Ask for Advice and Clarify Your Vision 

Rely on the advice of friends who share your style aesthetic, and get some advice from your wedding coordinator as well. With their help, and with your own sense of style as a guide, you’ll be able to design a traditional wedding that feels elegant, not dated.