Seating arrangements at wedding receptions tend to always have couples sit together at tables with other couples.  The arrangements often go like this: elders together, family together, young couples together, and then… singles together.

I’m not sure why there’s this “singles” table rule.  Ok, I understand that when you seat people, you seat them together in accordance with common interests, age, etc.  But, why is there this unspoken rule that singles should sit together?  What if there are no common denominators other than the single status?  Sure, the idea for this is to allow singles to meet, chat with other singles, ”hit it off,” and hopefully become a couple… because that’s what a wedding reception is about right? Celebrating (and even encouraging) ”couple” status.  This singles table rule presupposes that every single person at the table wants to be “coupled.”  But what if that’s not the case?  What if the single person has friends from the couples table and would have preferred spending the night with his/ her friends?  After all, a wedding reception is about having fun, right?

Being put at a singles table could make one feel obliged to befriend, converse, and “hook-up” with persons they may not want to associate with.  This could make one feel awkward and even offended because it ”singles” them out as being “single.”  

Like everything else in Chinatown, you can really get a bargain.  This applies to wedding cakes also.  My friend got a two-layer (15″, 17″) round wedding cake for a fraction of the price she could have gotten elsewhere ($250).  The cakes come in various fruit flavors and fresh butter cream.  Yes, butter cream!!  Not bad if you’re on a tight budget, right?  

Food at wedding receptions should taste good.  This simple concept should never be forgotten.  This should hold true for wedding cakes as well.

However, it appears that nowadays, couples go all out choosing a wedding cake that looks extravagant and delicately decorated while forgetting about the real purpose of the cake, which is not decoration but is meant to be eaten.  I’ve seen couples spend over $1,500 on a cake, and you kinda wonder what they’re thinking.  These cakes would be packed with layers and layers of fine crafted flowers of all sorts and fondant satin icing that makes the cake have a sharp glossy look (and is used presumably to help the cake keep its shape since using butter cream would be too soft and the decorations wouldn’t hold).  With the ”fla-fla” on the cake, I can’t image cutting that cake because it just looks… well sooo beautiful (it appears to me that most couples order such expensive cakes mainly to display the “wow” factor so common in today’s culture where each wedding has to surpass previous ones).  Not only that, I can’t image eating such cakes because I just don’t like the taste of fondant icing (which is hard icing and which most cakes will be topped with)… because to me, cake icing should be made of soft buttery cream, and not hard candy-like tasting molasse.

Aside from the fact that most couples go for the “look” when they choose a wedding cake, these cakes are often overpriced.  I guess it’s because it takes so much time and talent to craft each design on the cake.  To me, at the end of the day, you’re going to have to eat the cake because cakes are desserts - and desserts are meant to be eaten.  So, if it is made to be eaten, taste should be the overriding factor.  Don’t you agree?

The manner in which one seats relatives or important guests at a wedding reception could be a “costly” mistake if there is an accidental error in improperly seating them at a “non-important” table.  It could even cause an uproar or sour a relationship.

One key thing to keep in mind is that the table arrangement should be done in a manner that allows guests to feel comfortable with each other.  For example, place guests with similar interests or common backgrounds at the same table.  The seating arrangement also gives an indication of whether guests are important to the bride and groom.  If improperly placed at a table that does not reflect their status, this could indicate to the guests that they are not as relevant to the couple.  My friend told me that at his wedding, a mistake was made in not placing one couple at the appropriate table.  As a result, the couple got so mad that they left the city (since they flew in) without saying goodbye.  My friend had a strained relationship with that couple for months and had to go through a lot of trouble to repair the misunderstanding.

My advice, whether you like it or not, there is a lot of politics involved in seating arrangements in terms of making guests feel they are given the respect they deserve and making them feel at ease.