Take a seat!

The decision whether or not to have assigned seating at your wedding reception will surely provide you with a few opportunities for some pondering. What to do with your cousins from Europe who speak minimal English? And which table would make for a good fit for your college roommate, the only single gal at the wedding? And where, oh where, should you seat Great Aunt Agnes, who has a penchant for discussing her medical ailments with anyone within earshot?

While mulling things over and mapping out a plan for seating the medley of personalities that make up your friends and relatives, don’t forget to think about a seating schematic that represents you and your sweetheart. Anyone can number tables sequentially. But throw in a dash of creativity and treat your guests to some interesting tidbits about yourselves.

Important Numbers

If it just makes sense to you to use numbers to designate the tables, shake things up a bit and use numbers that have special meaning to you and your soon-to-be spouse. Be sure to include on the table number a brief description of the significance of the number. For example, if you each have one sibling, note that on table #1's card. Table #10 might explain that your birthdays are only ten days apart. Table #9¾? Perhaps you met waiting in line at the theater for tickets to the latest Harry Potter film!

Destinations

Consider naming tables after cities, parks, restaurants or other destinations that have special meaning for you both. Did you two meet waiting in line at the coffee shop on the corner? Seat your grandparents at the Common Grounds Café table. Maybe he proposed while on your summer trip to Colorado. Have your college buds gather at the Pike’s Peak table. Were you childhood classmates who both attended summer camp together? Your friends will get a kick out of sitting at the Camp Tamakwa table. Again, be sure to offer a printed explanation on each table number card.

Sports Nuts

For fellas who are lucky enough to catch themselves a girl who loves cheering on her favorite football, basketball or hockey team, going the sports theme route is a fun way to go. Pick your sport. Consider using team logos in lieu of numbers. Your guests will have a ball!

Authors or Favorite Books

For the well-read couple, utilizing the names of famous authors or books is a fancy way to designate tables. Looking for a fun way to help your guests pass a little time before the reception starts? Stand the books up on their tables to serve as table markers. Leave cards designed like old library book pocket inserts printed with a short quiz about the book at each place setting on each corresponding table. Who can name Captain Ahab's ship? To which island country did Gulliver travel?

Nature

Trees, national parks, world famous lakes, mountain ranges, regional wild animals, flowers… whatever elements of Mother Nature call to you will make for a down-to-Earth seating plan.

Movies

Are you and your betrothed movie aficionados? His buddies will appreciate being seated at the Rocky or Godfather tables while the bride’s galpals can chat about scenes from movies such as When Harry Met Sally and Pretty Woman. Your parents and grandparents can reminisce about scenes from old gems like Casablanca and Gone with the Wind. Where to seat the groomsmen? They can gather ‘round The Hangover table to rehash the bachelor party!

Hobbies and Interests

Is the groom a car fanatic? Consider naming tables after his favorite autos. Are the bride and groom both teachers? Seat guests at tables named after subjects and classes. Are you real board game lovers? Incorporate your favorites – who wouldn't want to be seated at the "Miss Scarlet" Clue-themed table? (We advise not leaving a lead pipe or revolver on the table, however!)

Whether you opt to go the creative route and have fun with your table names and numbers, or simply rely upon sequential numbers, use your table cards to jazz things up a bit. Photos, clip art, mini chalkboards, festive vases… the possibilities are endless. The day is all about the two of you. Why not make it personal and fun?

Fall Hayrides – A Rambling Ride Through the Colors

What better way to revel in fall's wondrous display of colors and brisk weather than to wend your way through the woods perched atop a hay bale on the back of a wagon? Now that's fall!

Having spent a good number of my childhood afternoons amid the wooded acres of my grandparents' farm, it simply doesn't feel like fall for me until I partake in a seasonal hayride. Of course, those rambling rides of my youth usually entailed chugging past the cornfields, over the hills and down into a valley adjacent to the wooded fence line to forage for hickory nuts underneath a canopy of brilliant yellows and rusty reds. Once my grandmother and I had filled our pails, buckets and bushel barrels with those meaty little nuts, we'd climb back into the wagon, sit atop our wobbly bales and enjoy the autumn afternoon as my grandpa pulled us back home behind the tractor.

My introduction to fall hayrides may have been simple transportation to and from one of nature's generous little food supplies, but the beauty and simplicity of those rides wasn't lost on me. When my kids were younger, I decided it simply wouldn't do to find the winter winds descending upon us without having taken time out for a fall hayride. As luck would have it, a large regional park/nature reserve in the area was not only home to acres upon acres of wooded splendor, but was also open for business for those looking to hire a hay wagon. This would be a perfect family activity, I decided!

We gathered the extended family one Saturday afternoon in late October and clambered atop bales stacked on a large flatbed wagon. Imagine the kids' delight when they discovered that this ride would not be powered by a pickup or a tractor, but two gentle giant draft horses! Some coaxing was needed to convince the kids to leave the horses be and climb up on the wagon.

A two-hour ride through woodlands and fields was just enough time for children of all ages to jump and play in the loose hay before snuggling down into their parents' straw- and hay-covered laps as the day grew cooler. The afternoon sun illuminated the hues of the season, setting the leaves ablaze in autumn tones of reds, oranges, coppers, yellows and golds. I sat back, my three-year-old daughter in my lap, thinking that fall drives are heavenly, but you miss out on the fresh, cool air in your face and the squirmy, giggling straw-covered urchin in your lap.

When the horses finally pulled the wagon to a gentle, swaying stop, kids and adults jumped down, brushed themselves free of straw and chaff, and ambled toward the picnic area where a bonfire and hotdog roasting sticks were at the ready. The hot mulled apple cider that awaited us helped ward off the chill in the air as my husband and I helped the kids hold their hotdogs over the flames. Later, after a potluck supper, the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers were brought out – a perfect ending to a perfect day. Ooey-gooey s'mores and hot chocolate as the sun set on a lovely fall day.

Don't let this fall escape without finding an apple orchard, park or farm to partake in a fall hayride.