I Do: Sweetheart Tables
We share why sweetheart tables are a definite DO in our new series: I Do/ I Don’t, where we split the pros and cons between the hottest wedding trends.
With all of the new trends in wedding planning, it’s hard to keep up! This week we spotlight the Sweetheart table. For those of you who have yet to be introduced to the concept of a Sweetheart table, it’s a small table that is set up in the reception for just the bride and groom. This provides that the bride and groom will be the center of attention during the wedding and allows the wedding party to sit with family and guests.
I’m all for this new concept!
Although it’s traditional for the bride and groom to sit amongst the wedding party, usually at a long table at the front or back of the reception area facing the guests—I always thought this was silly. This allows for the bride and groom to socialize, almost solely, with the wedding party. In this case: what’s the point of inviting guests?
Some pitfalls of sitting with your wedding party are that close relatives and friends who aren’t in the wedding party often feel left out. It’s traditional in today’s society to give a bride and groom gifts well into the three figures. I can’t tell you how many weddings I’ve been to in recent years where I felt like I was throwing that gift down a wishing well…some brides even overlook the traditional and expected ‘Thank you Notes’ after the reception. And there you sit in the back of the room with the bride’s grandma rehashing tales of her fairytale wedding while you’re getting particularly sloshed on a top-shelf open bar. Oh, maybe that was me.
The Sweetheart table also allows the bride and groom to be the center of attention! After all, you’re most likely dishing out enough money on your wedding reception that you could have put an ample down payment on a home, taken a trip around the world or bought matching Hyundai Accents for yourself and your significant other. Why WOULDN’T you want to be the center of attention? You and your brand-new husband (or wife) will be able to share your meal more intimately under this condition and since you’ll be alone together, you’ll devote more time after the meal to table hopping and socializing with all of your guests…outside of just the wedding party. Without felling bad that you’re neglecting your own table.
Pinterest is turning into one of my sole sources for everything that has to do with wedding planning. Let me clarify that I’m not planning a wedding and will hopefully never be planning a wedding again—however I love the pictures, ideas, trends and crafts that go along with the event. The sweetheart tables on Pinterest are perfect examples of why you’d want one at your reception and wouldn’t sway in any other seating-arrangement direction.
I do recommend some parameters in considering your Sweetheart table, though. If I had a choice, I’d place it right next to the bartender, but realistically you should have the sweetheart table set up in the middle of all of your guests or facing your guests.
Ideally, choose a small round table to really heighten the intimacy of the meal but not encourage you to want to sit there all evening. Sit at the same level as the rest of your guests. I’ve seen examples of the sweetheart table being raised above the crowd, which makes it seem more of a Parliament-like dictatorship gala than a wedding.
The decorations are up to you—as fancy or minimalistic as you desire. Considering the arrangement of the Sweetheart table is just an ideal way to enjoy your meal and take a break every so often from dancing and mingling, you shouldn’t make it so you want to sit there all night. Missing your own wedding would be silly.
Try your hand at the sweetheart table for your wedding. It’ll keep the peace amongst guests and the wedding party (Especially if the wedding party brought significant other’s that they’d like to share the event with), it’ll give you and your significant other a little time to yourselves during the festivities and it’s a beautiful addition to any wedding reception.
