The Attic - worried about seating

[marsh0013]

Okay, so I know a lot of people have used The Attic for their reception, and I thought this would be perfect for us. Casual, easy going, cozy, and has a lot of character. We are going to be around 20-25 people, so the numbers work. I showed my fiance some pictures tonight, and he's worried about seating, and now has made me worried about seating.

I know there are the 4 tables inside that seat 4 each, so that's 16, and then everybody else has to sit outside. What if it's hot? Wedding will be next October. I was thinking we would let everybody decide where to sit, but what if more people want to sit inside than there is room for? I'm picturing certain people getting upset that there isn't enough space. Or people trying to eat on couches with plates balancing on their laps. Maybe it will be cool enough that people will actually prefer the outside tables?

Help! I'm probably overthinking it, but this is worrying me. How did you handle the seating, or did it just work itself out?

 

[elphie101]

I know @Seia used The Attic most recently in May, you can see pictures in her planning journal. May is fairly comparable to October in weather so she'll probably have a good idea of what to tell you.

It will work itself out! Do you have your RSVPs back yet? You may not even have a problem.

 

[Seia]

I was worried about this issue too, but the opposite actually happened -- more people wanted to sit outside than in! We were lucky that the weather was incredibly nice on the day of the wedding: low to mid 80's with a breeze. However, there are some ceiling fans out on the balcony so that should help with the heat as well. There are some pictures from my site visit as well as the wedding day in my PJ (link in my signature) that may be useful.

I really think that open seating should be fine. We had 35 guests and it wasn't an issue. Are you having a sweetheart table?

 

[marsh0013]

I was worried about this issue too, but the opposite actually happened -- more people wanted to sit outside than in! We were lucky that the weather was incredibly nice on the day of the wedding: low to mid 80's with a breeze. However, there are some ceiling fans out on the balcony so that should help with the heat as well. There are some pictures from my site visit as well as the wedding day in my PJ (link in my signature) that may be useful.

I really think that open seating should be fine. We had 35 guests and it wasn't an issue. Are you having a sweetheart table?

Thanks, I have read through your entire PJ! It looks great to me, just the fear and vision in my crazy mind that we would have 20ish people fighting over 16 seats! Thanks for the details about the weather too, and the ceiling fans. I would imagine the weather should definitely be similar in October to your May timeframe, as Jenn mentioned (@elphie101 I've read through your entire PJ too!). And yes, we will do a sweetheart table, so I know we won't have to worry about our seats. It's really helpful to hear you had the same fear and it worked out for you.

I wish we could do our site visit before our 12 month mark, but we have our annual F&W trip planned for a couple weeks after. My fiance said to put the Attic as our first choice if it's what I really want (and I'm pretty sure it is!), and then once we go see it in person, we can change to something else if we really want to.

Thanks to Jenn for pointing Amanda to my question, and thanks to Amanda for easing my fear! I'm going to pass this info along to my fiance as well.

edited to add: Jenn, I'm way ahead of myself on this one, the wedding is October 2016, so we don't have our date confirmed yet. We are really only inviting people that we absolutely know will be coming. Although, my fiance's sister and her brood (husband +4 kids) are a wild card, which is why we're making sure we have a cushion over 20 total, so we don't drop below the minimum if they back out last minute. I know a lot can change in over a year, but we are trying to lock people in already. It's mainly family and a few close friends.

 

[lurkyloo]

Pretty much all of our guests sat outside too. What's great about the patio at the Attic is that it's covered, so it stays cooler and lets you be outside without sweltering in the sun.

 

[marsh0013]

Pretty much all of our guests sat outside too. What's great about the patio at the Attic is that it's covered, so it stays cooler and lets you be outside without sweltering in the sun.

Carrie, thanks for the reassurance. I know you loved the Attic. Maybe we will run into not enough outdoor seating! Ha! What a wonderful "problem" to have. I think I just have way too much time before we can confirm our date so my mind is running crazy!