Earlier quoted context omitted.
Organizing the seating arrangements at our wedding was such a pain. I remember we suggested doing "self seating" where everyone could just eat wherever they chose, and it was like I suggested inviting Satan himself to host the ceremony. My mom and Aunts shot that down SO FAST.
We did self-seating, and it worked out great. Many of the tables were exactly what we would've chosen, like "spouse's work friends", but it also let us avoid sticky situations like "number of aunts and uncles don't easily divide by the size of the tables". We wound up with great hybrids like "several cousins but also one aunt and uncle". Later I learned that decades earlier two brothers had stopped speaking forever o…
But IMO sitting with everyone you already know is boring, one of the interesting thing about weddings is meeting new people...