LAUGH
Whether you’re a teacher who is planning a wedding now or has planned one recently, the fact that the process of making seating arrangements for wedding guests is almost identical to making seating arrangements in the classroom comes at no shock. Actually, so much of the wedding planning process can be compared to lesson planning in general. Just what we needed… more planning accompanied by more frustration! There is seriously nothing more frustrating than planning seating arrangements.
Here are 10 ways that making seating arrangements for your classroom and your wedding are the same.
1. Re-drawing seating arrangements approximately 500 times.
This is followed by the aggressive erasing of tables/desks and drawing in new arrangements until the paper ends up ripping. Repeat.
2. Once the seating arrangement seems workable, you start to think of that one person who ruins every seating scenario.
Finding a workable spot for that one person is near impossible.
3. Let’s not forget the two people who couldn’t get along if their life depended on it.
Whether it’s Aunt Sally and her ex Uncle Billy at your wedding or little Joe and his arch-nemesis Frank in your class, you’d only put them at the same table if you were looking to spark a disaster. We may risk that in class seating arrangements (if we’ve mastered the experienced teacher glare), but definitely not at a wedding.
4. Squads always want to sit together.
It’s nearly impossible to decide how to split up these groups to ensure that tears don’t follow… from students or from grown adults attending a wedding.
5. We want our favorites to be closest to us.
We all have favorites, and we all enjoy it when they sit near our desk or close to the dance floor!
6. You feel daring and want to mix some crowds at different tables just to see what happens.
You don’t always have to sit complete groups of friends together! It can be interesting to mix people up and see where the night (or school day) takes you.
7. Finally the seating arrangement looks complete, and you take a step back to admire it. Then…start from scratch again.
Oh… wait… Susie was accidentally put near the speakers, which she just can’t handle. AND Tommy was placed near the bathroom, Liam is next to the garbage can, and Kim’s desk is essentially blocking the door. Back to Step 1: Erase Everything.
8. Switch up the layout to something totally different.
Maybe a U or a T shape?! That should solve everything and people will love how different it is. This might just work!
9. You’ve made the final seating arrangements and now it’s time to see how it all plays out as people arrive for the big reveal.
After a while, it ends as it always does: most adjust well to the seats, people enjoy each other’s company, and most of the time is spent up and out of the seats anyway!
10. Someone new (and uninvited) always gets thrown into the mix.
We’ve all been there at school. It’s 7:55 and the office calls to tell you that you have a new student arriving any minute. It’s your lucky day if you even have an extra desk for the new student. At your wedding, someone may show up with a random plus one that just doesn’t really fit into the seating arrangement. How does one plan ahead for that?!
Good thing you spent weeks creating the chart…
