Who Sits at the Head Table at a Wedding Reception?

Organizing the reception layout and seating chart can be two of the trickiest wedding planning tasks. You need to optimize the venue's space to fit all your tables and also orchestrate who each guest will sit next to. Traditionally, the couple will sit together at a sweetheart table or with a few guests at a head table. Only special attendees with closer relationships to the newlyweds are offered spots at the head table.

What is the head table at a wedding? "[It] is a long, grand table that is central to the reception layout and typically provides seating for the [couple] and their wedding party," explain Nancy Park and Paean Wang, principal planners of So Happi Together. "It's a great way for you to keep your loved ones close during the dinner reception, as opposed to a standalone sweetheart table, which only seats the [newlyweds]."

Want to learn more about who traditionally receives a seat at the head table at a wedding reception and how modern couples are changing the rules? Read ahead to get Park and Wang's expert insights to design your seating chart.

Who Traditionally Sits at the Head Table?

In general, a seat at the head of a table is considered an honorary placement, showing a person's importance in a room; that idea is also translated to the wedding head table. While couples can choose to organize their reception however they like, you can traditionally find the newlyweds and the wedding party seated at a head table. The best man or woman and the maid or man of honor usually will be placed right next to the couple, and the rest of the party will take the other seats.

"Traditionally, everyone at the head table would be seated facing the dance floor and all of the other guests as a seat of honor, giving them front-row seats to any toasts or dances," Park and Wang explain of the reception layout. "When there is a stage with a live band, the head table would be on the opposite side of the dance floor, facing the band. However, we often seat people on both sides of the head table now so that it feels more organic to the dining space. We do typically keep the two seats in front of the [couple] empty so that they still have a nice view of all their guests and vice versa."

The pair add, "There are some instances where immediate family or parents also sit at the table." In this case, they can be integrated alongside your wedding party. If you are not having them sit at the head table, make sure to give your parents a prime seat nearby so they can clearly see the speeches.

Who Sits at the Head Table If There Is No Wedding Party?

Today, many couples are choosing to forgo having wedding parties. In this situation, it's less set in stone who should be placed at the head table. Instead, the newlyweds can choose who they want to spend the most time with during the reception. "Many of our couples still have very close friends sit with them at a head table if there is no formal wedding party," note Park and Wang. "Most of our couples who don't have a party still choose to ask a few close friends to get ready with them on the morning of the wedding. These are usually the same people seated with them for dinner."

"Alternatively, many of our brides and grooms share the table with their immediate family—mainly their parents, siblings, and their siblings' plus-ones," they continue. "We find that some of the sweetest moments captured at the reception are during the heartwarming conversations our couples have with their parents and siblings during dinner."

Do Wedding Party Plus-Ones Sit at the Head Table?

If you decide to have your wedding party members next to you at the reception, you might be curious if their plus ones also get a seat at the table. Park and Wang say, "Traditionally no, but nowadays, yes! It's nice for the wedding party to have their significant others with them at the head table as this is where they will be enjoying their dinner. Most of our couples are not as interested in forcing their wedding party to fulfill some traditional 'duties' on the wedding day as they are surrounded by their loved ones and making sure they all enjoy the celebration."

"If seating the wedding party and their plus ones at the head table makes it too large for the layout and space, our couples will sometimes opt to have them seated at other tables by the dance floor, and simply sit at a head table with immediate family or choose to go with a sweetheart table instead."