At the wedding breakfast a great deal of effort is usually put into the table layouts and it takes considerable planning to get it all just perfect.
With so much planning for a traditional wedding it is hardly surprising that those who can afford it ask for professional help.
Not all brides and their mothers are necessarily gifted in the art of wedding table decorations let alone all the one hundred and one other considerations that must go into the smooth running of this day that for many brides is the most important of their lives.
The difficulty with the main bride, groom and immediate top table is not to overcrowd it with too much clutter. Just occasionally the view of the bride and groom is obscured from the rest of the guests sitting below them by a large floral centrepiece.
This must of course be avoided but sadly it does still happen. Cluttering up the guests tables is all too easy to do to the point that when the plates arrive there is hardly anywhere to put them. If it is a table supper with tureens of vegetables, gravy boats and so on the problem gets even worse.
It seems a tradition these days to have place names, little individual gifts, small candles and glass beads scattered around every table.
Whilst the place names make sense as a means of spreading and mixing people around, some of the extras can just be a bit of an irritant.
Despite that, there should as a rule always be a reasonable flower display in the centre of each table.
Ideally the tables should be round just as they always are in every private home or restaurant in China. The Chinese believe all should be equal when sitting together at mealtimes. The oblong table is a western concept where the head of the family sits at one end and his or her consort at the other.
Displays are much easier to arrange on round tables and at weddings they are absolutely ideal in facilitating talk between all and not just the person the guest is sitting next to.
Simplicity is the answer to the decorations at wedding tables and if the flower display is the centre point it is worth looking at the wonderful artificial displays at this site. Forget for a moment the word artificial and instead just admire the beauty of these hand crafted arrangements.
There is nothing artificial in taking silk and fine wire and spending time to produce a stunning display that will last long after all the guests have gone. They make ideal keepsakes that will last for ever and are always much appreciated by the younger guests.
It is not just wedding table and decorations that have to be carefully considered but the placement of the guests can be an administrative nightmare sometimes with hysterical results when you realise the gaff in placing two distantly related couples next to each other with a history of never speaking to one another or worse still, a divorced couple in near vicinity.