Expert Advice from wedding guru, Sharon Naylor

Answer:

Sounds like it's time to use paper cut-out templates. Get lots of paper from your recycling bin, and cut out different shapes of tables, seating, a dance floor, etc. and pin them all onto a bulletin board that you're calling the dimensions of the room for the wedding. It won't be an exact science, but it'll give you an idea of how to lay out your room, and if you find that tables don't work on that side of the room, you just move the paper to the other side of the bulletin board. Or cut out a new square of paper so you can see how the room will be laid out.

Quick question: are you having the wedding in an established banquet hall? If so, ask the site manager for a layout printout of the room -- most sites have those to help you plan your seating charts. And some sites have a computer program that you can work on with them to plan your room's layout.

Wedding coordinators have this software, so if you're working with one, ask him or her for help with this task. It often surprises brides and grooms that they can ask their wedding vendors for layout help, and get expert advice on what works where...as well as great tips such as "you don't want your deejay area there. It's too close to the guest tables, and the speakers would be too loud for those guests." Those inside tips save your wedding!