Seated dinner: 5 must-dos for planning a sit-down dinner

Cocktail parties are fun, but a truly special event calls for a full seated dinner.

Organizing this type of event comes with its own set of unique challenges that go above and beyond that of a cocktail reception. To make sure your seated dinner goes smoothly, here are the five must-dos.

1. Find the perfect venue for your seated dinner

How many times have you found the venue of your dreams only to discover that it has one fatal flaw that means it won’t work for your event? When you’re considering venues for seated dinners you’ll need to take into account more than just the floor plan (which we’ll get to in a moment), but also whether or not they are equipped to host a full dinner. If your venue of choice doesn’t have the chairs and tables needed or the staff to serve at a sit-down dinner, your costs can quickly surpass your budget.

2. Make sure the floor plan can accommodate your layout

Once you’ve selected the venue, it’s time to start planning how you want your event to be organized. Make sure you check with the venue to see if there are any restrictions as to how you set up the space. You can’t plan the layout of your event before you know everything that it will entail. So make sure you’ve determined the basic flow and whether or not you’ll need elements like a stage or an area for live music. You’ll also want to make sure that your cocktail area and dining area are separate to allow the staff time to set up the dinner and give you the chance to make any last-minute seating arrangement changes, if necessary.

3. Choose the right caterer for your seated dinner

Let’s be honest, the food at your event is going to be memorable only if it’s amazingly delicious or disgustingly terrible. There’s no question that you want your guests to walk away raving about how good the meal was. But don’t think that only the fanciest food will make your event memorable. Some of the best dinners are ones that are themed and include non-traditional event foods like barbecue or food trucks. It all depends on the atmosphere you want to create with your event.

4. Make sure you’ve taken guests’ dietary restrictions into account

One of the top questions to ask your caterer is always whether or not they can accommodate different food preferences or allergies. And not only that, make sure that the alternatives they provide are on par with the rest of the meal for your seated dinner. As any guest with dietary restrictions will tell you, many caterers will simply serve them the parts of the meal they can eat, but not offer substitutions. A meal consisting of side dishes is not really a meal at all.

5. Don’t leave seating to chance

At a cocktail party your guests can mingle and meet as many people as they like — or stay within their own group. At a seated dinner, you’re playing matchmaker for your guests for the evening. But seating is notoriously one of the most difficult details to solidify. Save yourself time and energy by using a seating chart app like zkipster that allows you to update who is sitting next to whom as many times as you need as new information comes in or as the guest count changes. There will always be those last minute tweaks that you can’t anticipate and a dynamic seating chart can help you be prepared. Consider escort and place cards for all guests as well.

What to remember when planning a seated dinner

There are a lot of factors to consider when you organize a seated dinner or event. It’s crucial to make sure your venue and your caterer can meet all of your needs, and that you pay attention to the needs of your guests as well. That means preparing for dietary restrictions and using a dynamic seating chart or seating chart app like zkipster to be able to respond to last minute changes in your guest list. All of these considerations will help you make your dinner event a success. And once you have them nailed down you can move on to the more exciting aspects like invitations and exciting technology installations.

Our media partner BFA, whose expert photographers captured the stunning images featured here, can serve the visual needs of your events.

Header image: A tablescape at the Whitney Museum of American Art: Annual Gala. Photo by Darian DiCiannio / BFA.com ⓒ BFA 2022