Sweetheart Table
A small private table for the couple alone, usually for 2.
Wedding Seating & Event Planning Glossary
Plain-English definitions of every term you'll encounter when planning a wedding seating chart or event reception. From sweetheart tables to escort cards, banquet style to family-style, all explained.
Head Table
A long table at the front of the room seating the couple and the wedding party.
King's Table
A long banquet table for the couple, wedding party, and immediate family — guests sit on both sides.
Top Table
British/Australian term for the head table — where the wedding party sits.
Escort Card
A card that tells each guest which table to sit at.
Place Card
A card at each table seat showing a single guest where to sit.
Seating Chart
A visual diagram showing which guests sit at which table.
Seating Plan
Same as a seating chart — the assignment of guests to specific tables.
Floor Plan
A scaled diagram of the reception room showing where each table goes.
Reception Layout
The overall arrangement of tables, dance floor, and other elements in the reception space.
Assigned Seating
Each guest is given a specific table (and sometimes a specific seat).
Open Seating
No assigned tables — guests sit wherever they like.
Banquet Style
A seated, served dinner with assigned tables — the traditional reception format.
Cocktail Reception
A standing reception with high tables and passed appetizers, no full sit-down dinner.
Family-Style Seating
Guests sit at long shared tables with platters of food passed around.
RSVP
"Répondez s'il vous plaît" — the guest reply confirming whether they will attend.
Plus-One
A guest invited along with a primary invitee, often unnamed on the invitation.
Guest List
The full list of invited guests with contact details, RSVP status, and meal choice.
Round Table (60-inch)
The standard 60-inch round table that seats 8 to 10 guests.
Banquet Table (8-foot)
An 8-foot rectangular table that seats 8 to 10 guests, 4 to 5 per side.
Chiavari Chair
An elegant lightweight wooden bamboo-style chair, the wedding industry standard.
Tablescape
The complete styled top of a table — linens, centrepieces, place settings, candles.
Place Setting
The arrangement of plates, glasses, and cutlery for a single guest.
Charger Plate
A large decorative plate placed under the dinner plate as a base.
Centrepiece
A floral or decorative arrangement at the centre of each table.
Linen
The fabric covering the table — tablecloth, runner, and napkins.
Receiving Line
A formal line where the couple and parents greet each guest individually.
Sightline
The visual path from a guest's seat to the focal point — the couple, dance floor, or speaker.
Alphabetical Display
An escort card display sorted alphabetically by guest first name.
VIP Table
A specially-positioned table reserved for guests of honour.
Kids Table
A dedicated table for child guests, typically lower height with activities.
Singles Table
A table grouping unmarried guests together — increasingly out of favour.
Estate Table
A long communal banquet table — regional synonym for king's table.
Plated Dinner
A formal sit-down meal served plate-by-plate to each guest at their seat.
Buffet Style
Guests serve themselves from a long line of food stations.
Food Stations
Multiple themed food stations placed around the room — guests graze.
Highboy / Cocktail Table
A tall standing table for drinks and standing conversation.
Ceremony Seating
Seating arrangement for the ceremony itself — different rules than the reception.
Buffer Seat
An intentionally empty seat used to keep two guests apart.
Conflict Pair
Two guests who must not be seated near each other.
Seating Rule
A constraint that shapes how guests are assigned to tables.