This is how you create a table setting
In 7 handige stappen
The seating arrangement can be hell or heaven. A whole evening next to a fellow journalist who once wrote in all caps on Facebook that she thought Amayzine was STUPID is a long evening, you understand. But if the host has done their best and you are seated next to someone you really like and want to get to know better and longer, it's a celebration. We often host a dinner and I can tell you that creating a seating arrangement for the Look of the Year Awards is akin to higher mathematics. Just try to find a place for 120 guests where they will be happy, taking into account rank, status, and type of person. Anyway. By now, Annick (our sales heroine) and I are quite experienced in placing people, so I feel this is the moment to share some tips. For weddings, parties, and out-of-hand dinners.
1. Buy post-its
Write the names of the guests on post-its. So each post-it carries a name. We often work with two colors of post-its, where the guest themselves gets a pink color and their plus one a blue one.
2. Draw the table(s)
Especially if you are dealing with multiple tables, draw the tables on a large sheet as they relate to each other in the space. If one of your guests is going to speak or receive an award, it's handy to place them a bit towards the front. Then you stick the post-its on the tables. Just start somewhere. I usually start with my most important guests. You give them the best table and from there you think further. Who would that person want around them? This way you slowly continue to stick.
3. Get to know the people
Subtly inquire if people will be happy with the company you have arranged for them. Do it in such a way that the other person feels free to really say what they would prefer. Your guest will see that you are genuinely considering them and already knows they will have a nice evening. The chance of cancellations is therefore much smaller right away.
4. Divide your own team
If you are hosting a dinner for business (but also privately), it is polite to give everyone attention. That’s why we don’t have an Amayzine table at the Look of the Year Awards, but spread all the editors across the tables so that everyone has their own hostess. At home, it’s also nice if your partner sits on the other side of the table. You see each other often enough, now it’s time to mingle.
“You see each other often enough, now it’s time to mingle.”
5. Consider ranks
You simply don’t seat the director of one company next to the intern of another company. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the person in question and think about how they will experience the seating. This reflects well on you as a hostess, because you have thought carefully about making your guests comfortable.
6. Create a floor plan
And place it at the entrance. This way, you don’t have to search all the tables for your name tag. Always a very awkward moment. By making a floor plan with an overview of the tables and the names of the guests, you can immediately see where you are sitting. Also give the tables a clear sign with the table number. Once everyone is seated, you can remove that.
7. Assign a seater
Or do it yourself, that’s the most fun. Know by heart who sits where. Believe me, if you’ve puzzled like that, it’s etched in your mind. You stand at the entrance, welcome everyone, and immediately tell them where you have placed them. There’s bound to be someone who walks along to the table to really guide someone to their spot.
Good luck!
