The seating arrangement
The seating arrangement at a wedding reception is one of the most difficult tasks of the planning process. "Who should seat where "and "how to make anyone happy with the seats" are some of the questions of my brides and, honestly besides the etiquette all that remains is to use common sense. All in all, yes it's your wedding day, but you are inviting guests to share your happiness with them and you want them to feel comfortable... of course.
Still talking about the seating arrangement, of course, you will need a way to show your guests at what table to seat.
The role of the seating plan (or tableau marriage) is essentially this, but not only. Being the very first thing that your guests will see while entering the reception, it should condensate all the care that you and your wedding planner put in deciding the decor of the day and, whatever mood you have planned to give to your wedding day, it should be seen from the seating plan onwards.
Of course, there's no strict rule to follow when deciding how to create the Seating Plan. You can make your fantasy work and use anything that fits the mood of the event, like the "rock and roll" wedding or the "travel destinations" one of the photos above.
The size of the Seating Plan should also reflect the number of guests at the wedding and, even that for a small wedding it's easier to create something nice, with a little work and professional help there are options for larger gathering also.
Pinterest is obviously a great help for finding amazing Seating Plans ideas but should be just ideas, and I rarely use it. I love the concept of offering something special to each of my brides and try to reflect as much as possible what is their own vision of an amazing day.