The Nest

Musical chairs

Posted Thursday, October 04, 2007 5:09 PM

You would think that in a perfect world, telling adults where to sit wouldn't be needed. I guess it's a hard habit to break: we have assigned seats on airplanes, in cruise ship dining rooms, even at High Holiday services (well, for some people).

When the last R.S.V.P. came in this week I was very happy. Not just because it meant we'd heard from everyone (which don't get me wrong, is amazing), but because the one part of the wedding planning process I had no way of doing in advance – the seating chart – was finally going to be able to be worked on.

During my commute home last night I was very close to throwing my hands up.

It isn't easy seating nearly 200 people at tables of 10 or 12 – especially when you want to squeeze 13 onto a table for 12, or you have different groups that will need to sit together even though it might look funny, or when you have to break up large groups at two tables and then figure out who sits where.

The good news is – we don't have anybody who we MUST keep apart; the bad news is, we have a lot of people that like to be seated together. I have a computer spread sheet; I have charts and diagrams in Microsoft word and a fiance who is an expert in Access. After all that, you know what helped the most? A pen and a piece of paper with a circle on it.

Thank goodness my father started me on logic problems at a young age.

You know, logic problems:

Mary is sitting next to Tom; Kevin is across from Marla; Mr. Walker is a lefty; Kara is a conjoined twin; and Seamus will only sit in a chair that is red. Figure out each person's position at the table, the color of the chair and their full name.

So with that in mind (and a lack of any conjoined twins), Adam and I were able to place everyone at a seat – while watching the Cubs game (the curses might still be floating around Wrigley, but the Cubbies were lucky for us).

So make that one less thing to worry about. The floor plan is now in the hands of our very together caterer and everyone has a place to sit. One-hundred ninety-three guests; 19 tables; 17 days; 43 items left; one much-happier bride.

BTW: The order would be Mary Tom Kevin Kara Seamus Marla!