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Another *good* post on FMIL

Table Names instead of Table Numbers?

posted 2 years ago in Reception
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    1.
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    Blushing bee
    Wolff2Be    October 3, 2009   Pittsburgh, PA

    Any brides out there use table names instead of table numbers?  My fiance and I are planning on doing that but our caterer recommended that it would be easier/less time consuming for our guests to find the talbes if they were numbered.  The caterer also wants us to include a number along with a name for the wait staff so there is no confusion for them.  Obviously it would be easeir to go with numbers, but we think it would be fun for our guests to see all the clever names we've picked for the tables (we're using landmarks from our hometown). Our solution is to put the number and the name on the sign at each table, but the escort cards will only have the table name.

    Newlyweds, if you used names instead of numbers, did your guests have a hard time finding their table?  Did you have a map of your tables to make it easier for your guests to find their seat?  Or should I just put the number on the escort card too?

     
    2.
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    Helper bee
    wonderlanded    2 October 2010   London

    We're doing names for ours, cities we've visited together (with pictures of us in those cities as the table cards).  We'll only have 12 tables though so it won't be too difficult for people to find.

    How many guests are you having? If it's a large number of people, a small number on each one as well as the name might help?  Or with your idea, it might be cute to have a map of the town/tables that show people how to find their table?

     
    3.
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    Helper bee
    tvilase    11/28/09   Los Angeles

    I'm not a newlywed, but I am planning on using names instead of numbers. We love to travel and are having a destination wedding, so I'm naming the tables by all the different locations we've traveled to. I don't see why it would be any harder for guests as long as everything is clearly marked. However, I am planning on adding a number to the tables for the caterers since it will make their lives easier.

     
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    Helper bee
    tvilase    11/28/09   Los Angeles

    hey wonderland, so funny, i think we were posting at the same time and have the exact same idea! We're doing the pictures too!

     
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    Bumble bee
    jhphi    January 1, 2008  

    Could they be arranged in alphabetical order?

     
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    Busy bee
    Bella Luna    September 5, 2010   Ohio

    I think we are going to do names also (we have some neat park names in the area and so we are naming them park names). :) I think poo poo to the caterer, and dow what you want. :) They can live with whatever you want - you are paying them to do it your way... remember?

    -Bella

     
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    Buzzing bee
    pmerr    August 14, 2010   Rochester, NY

    I'm also doing table names- We're going to the 1000 Islands for our honeymoon, so I'm going to be using names of islands for the table names. You could always use a diagram of the table layout, add the names, and put it by the door so they know where each table is, and the wait staff could have a copy in the back. There would be the same problem with the numbers too, I would think. Do what you want, not what the caterer wants.

     
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    Helper bee
    GI Josephine    July 14, 2012   Cleveland, Ohio

    I recently attended a wedding that had movies for table names, no numbers anywhere.. it was fun to search for our table (and there was popcorn and movie theater candy on the table), but I could tell that some of the older folks were slightly confused by the idea.  I thought it was interesting to see the movies that the bride and groom had picked.. unfortunately, I wasn't at the Harry Potter table! :)

     
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    Busy bee
    WindyCityBride    September 25, 2010   Chicago, IL

    We are naming our tables for Chicago streets.  We both grew up here, met here, etc, so we're going to name our tables after streets that were important to us, and put something at the table that explains why the street is important to us.  I want to take B&W pics of the actual street signs for the table "numbers", but we'll see.

     
    10.
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    Newbee
    disneybriide    April 3, 2010   Disneyland, CA

    We are using table names instead of numbers also. I'm getting married at Disneyland and our theme for the wedding is pretty much Cinderella/Fairytale, so we are picking major things/characters from Cinderella as our table names! Something that I'm going to do to help with people finding their table is making a seating layout on a decorated poster board that can be displayed at the entrance of the reception. That way they can have a visual of at least the area that their table is in.

     
    11.
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    Helper bee
    MayBee    May 22, 2010   Manchester, NH

    We're doing exactly what you said you're planning to do.....names and numbers on the tables themselves, and just the name on the escort cards.  I think names are so much more fun!! :)  We're going with movie titles!  Can't wait!

     
    12.
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    Bumble bee
    stlginkgo    3/20/10  

    I guess I am kinda boring with this aspect. We are just doing numbers, simply because it is the easiest, esp for the older guests (which we will have quite a few)

     
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    Bumble
    Beekeeper
    cardigan    January 7, 2011   Austin, TX

    We're just doing numbers (I think), but I love the idea of table names!

     
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    Busy bee
    Miss Yap    02/20/10   Dallas

    I attended a wedding that used names instead of numbers and it really didn't bother me (they used the word love in different languages).

     
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    Helper bee
    sf_carrie       San Francisco

    My cousin and his wife had the names of their favorite wineries as the table names (they got married in Sonoma and are huge wine buffs) and it was cool to learn about their favorites.   Another family friend had their favorite childhood candies as the table names and that was fun too. 

    For me, it's less about what's most convenient but rather about what's personal that makes a wedding memorable as guest.  I love weddings where people write their own vows, incorporate factoids about how they met or the proposal, etc.

     
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    Bee Keeper
    KMSull    August 7, 2010   Lexington, KY (via Atlanta, GA)

    We're going to do names, even if boyfriend doesn't know it yet! It's part of him eventual homework :)

     
    17.
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    Bee Keeper
    RecessionistaBride    January 28, 2012  

    We're doing table names/letters... We're using all the airport codes we've stopped at or frequently use to get to see each other (we're LD). We have a bit of an airplane/travel theme going on. I hate to call it a theme because often theme weddings can go overboard. I like to think we have the right amount of airline touches :) 

     
    18.
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    Busy bee
    azula    February 27, 2010  

    We're doing table names. Originally we were going to use names of various astronomical objects but after thinking about it I realized it would be a bit too confusing for people to find table name NGC 6240 :-P  However, we're keeping the astronomy theme (we're both astronomers, after all), and we're naming our tables after the planets in the solar system. Our table will be Sun, and the rest will be, in order, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroid Belt, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (yes, we're including Pluto). That way the table names fit with the overall astronomy theme and they're in an easy-to-follow order too :-)

     
    19.
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    Blushing bee
    Wolff2Be    October 3, 2009   Pittsburgh, PA

    Thanks for all the postive words, ladies!!  At this point I feel like I'm second guessing all my choices just because of what the caterer said.  You're right, we're paying them! So they'll just have to deal with the names. Smile

     
    20.
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    Sugar bee
    GaBGal    September 25, 2010  

    azula -- I'm glad you are including Pluto! lol

    We are thinking of doing numbers and names.... we are actuallly planning to do pen and ink line drawings for the names of places we've been to together.

     
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    Busy bee
    melv0802    September 18, 2010   new jersey/philadelphia

    We're planning to do table names..we both love jason mraz and have been fans since a while back, so we're planning to use the names of his songs for our table names...

     
    22.
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    326 posts
    Helper bee
    Miss International    July 17, 2010   Germany

    We're doing table names: countries or cities we've been to (in a sepia look). I'll do a map of tables and I think people will be clever enough to find their seat. :)

     

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