Whether it’s a small, intimate affair with a limited number of invitees, or something of epic proportions with hundreds of guests, the problem’s still the same: how to decide on a seating plan?

A good table composition is essential to the success of your wedding dinner.  It takes strategy and intelligence to make sure that all of your guests feel at ease and that conversation keeps flowing.  Your guests will appreciate the time and attention spent organising the tables almost as much as the good food.  The degree of relationship shouldn’t be the only criteria taken into account, but also the different ages and personalities of your friends and relatives and whether there will be topics of mutual interest for conversation.

In some cases it’s a really hard task and could see you going through a number of different set-ups, rubber in hand, before you’re entirely satisfied.

Once you’ve just solved this puzzle, though, it’s time to move on to the next game, this one more fun and enjoyable: the choice of theme for your ‘tableau de mariage’.

Indeed, the ‘tableau de marriage’ isn’t just a map for your guests to find out which table and seats they’ve been assigned.  The Tableau, place cards and menus should all be in the same style and therefore they should have a common theme inspired by your interests or the location …that’s also easy for everyone to remember.

If, for example, you’re wine connoisseurs, you could assign the name of a fine wine to each table and use corks and boxes as place cards and tableau, as Chiara and Luca did. If you’re incurable romantics, you could use the names of flowers and herbs and use these as centrepieces for the tables, or relive your love story using photos and messages, as Giada and Gianmarco did at Valle de Badia.

Or if you’re music lovers, you could assign the names of your favourite songs like Gianni & Teresa did. If it’s art that you love, you could use the names of painters, or if you like travel, the names of places that you’ve been.

Use fresh ideas, humour and this will all become a part of the game and will make your wedding reception more enjoyable.

Need some more ideas to inspire you?  Names of precious stones, your favourite personalities, signs of the zodiac, famous couples, famous writers, filmstars, colours, cities,  any list could work, as long as it stimulates the interest of your guests and is in theme with the place settings and location.

Do you have an original idea? Share it on Facebook with #valledibadiawedding!