The idea of wedding table names doesn't tend to occur to a large number of people who either have no set plan for where people sit at the reception or who simply number their tables.

Couples who don't use table names or plans of any kind tend to think that most guests will be happiest sorting out where to sit themselves, and that to create a plan is too formal and too prescriptive. Often such a decision is made with the best of intentions, but in fact it could be a recipe for a disaster.

Letting guests choose where to sit sounds like a lovely idea, but not only does it rarely work in practice for all but a minority of your guests, but in a recent survey almost 80% of guests said that given the choice they would far rather be presented with a seating plan so that they knew where to sit, and would be confident that the couple had chosen their place with care, ensuring that they were sitting with people they would be likely to get on with.

It's worth bearing in mind that whilst the wedding ceremony itself may only last half an hour or so, the reception may last several hours, and so it is very much more important to think about where people are seated for that duration of time. It will certainly make a great deal of difference your guests' enjoyment of the day, and consequently the overall atmosphere during your reception.

Using wedding table names , or even numbers, will make a great deal of difference, helping to ensure that your guests don't have to rush into the room, panicking about where to sit, who to sit with and who to avoid. The first few guests may group together in bunches, leaving some guests who may not know many of your other friends and family, left floundering for anyone to take pity on them and take them in.

Sometimes splitting big groups of people up a little and mixing them around helps everyone to feel more equal and more able to relax and enjoy themselves. But what about using numbers? Are table names an advantage over table numbers?

The answer is certainly yes, because nothing tells your friends and family how much you value them like placing them on table 19. Clearly those on table 1 will feel very honoured, and even those on tables 2 and 3 will feel very special. But as the numbers get bigger the amount of inferred importance or value gets smaller, until those friends on the very last table will feel as though they're only there to make up the numbers.

Using wedding table names instead means that all of your guests will feel equal. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to come up with suitable table names – perhaps colours, flowers, names of places you've been to or even something a little off the wall such as the scientists who used the periodic table to create their wedding table names, or the football fans who created a list of table names based on their favourite footballers. It's your wedding – don't forget to have fun, and help your guests feel relaxed and valued at the same time.