Who Sits Where at a Wedding? Ceremony, Reception & Head Table
The short answer: at the ceremony, families split across the aisle with parents in the front rows. At the reception, the couple take a head table or sweetheart table, parents sit at the nearest tables, and everyone else is assigned a seat with people they know. The rest of this guide walks through every seat — and what to do when your family doesn't match the traditional diagram.
At the ceremony
Facing the altar, the bride's guests traditionally sit on the left and the groom's on the right (Jewish ceremonies reverse this; same-sex couples usually just pick sides). Parents get the front row on their side, grandparents and siblings the second. Nobody needs a named seat — ushers simply ask "which side?" and fill rows from the front. If parents are divorced, give each their own row: parent in front, their partner and family directly behind. The full details are in our ceremony seating guide.
The head table
The classic version seats the couple at the center — partner to the right — flanked by the best man and maid of honor, with the wedding party alternating outward. Three common alternatives: a sweetheart table just for the two of you (easiest with divorced parents or big wedding parties), a family head table with both sets of parents, or a long top table that adds the wedding party's own partners so no one spends dinner apart from their date. All four setups are compared in who sits at the head table.
Parents and grandparents
Whoever isn't at the head table sits at the tables closest to it. One shared parents' table works when families get along; when they don't — or when each side is large — give each set of parents their own table anchored by their relatives and friends. Put grandparents wherever it's quietest, usually farthest from the band or speakers.
Everyone else
Assign the remaining guests to tables (a seat at a specific table is enough; individual place settings are optional). The one rule that matters: every guest should know at least one person at their table. Group by family branch, friendship circle, or life stage; seat couples and plus-ones together; and keep known feuds at separate tables. For the finer points — kids' tables, single friends, coworkers — see the full reception etiquette guide and seating divorced parents.
Working out who sits where is exactly what Gather does: import your guest list, mark couples and keep-apart pairs, and auto-arrange the tables — free, in your browser, no account needed.