How we draw a table plan for seventy guests
Start with the room, not the guest list: the order we work in, and why the top table comes last (sample).
Wedding planners for country and city weddings
Ashby Lane Weddings (sample) plans weddings of 20 to 150 guests in Springfield and the surrounding counties: the budget, the venue, the suppliers, every seat at every table, and the day itself.
Now taking enquiries for 2027 (sample). The first call is free.
Mira and Joel, The Orchard Barn
Saturday 12 June (sample)
Top table: 8 guests
Ash: 8 guests, 1 meal note
Birch: 8 guests, 1 meal note
Cedar: 8 guests, 1 meal note
Elm: 8 guests, 1 meal note
Dance floor
Fir: 7 guests, 1 spare, 1 meal note
Hazel: 8 guests, 1 meal note
Larch: 8 guests, 1 meal note
Maple: 7 guests, 1 spare, 1 meal note
70 guests
9 tables
2 spare seats
8 meal notes
Planning packages
Three ways to work with us, depending on how much is already booked. Every package ends with us running the day, so you can be a guest at your own wedding.
Full planning
From 12 to 18 months before the day
We plan the whole wedding with you: budget, venue search, every supplier, the design, guest list, table plan and the order of the day. Two of us run the day itself.
From $6,800
Partial planning
From 6 months before the day
You have the venue and a few suppliers. We book the rest, write the timings, draw the table plan, brief everyone and run the day with two people.
From $3,400
On-the-day coordination
From 8 weeks before the day
You planned it; we take it over. Two meetings, a venue walk-through, the final details with every supplier, and a coordinator from set-up to the last dance.
From $1,450
Example prices for a wedding of up to 100 guests in Springfield and the surrounding counties.
How planning works
The same five steps for every wedding, whether it is twenty guests at the registry office or a hundred and forty in a country house.
1
First call
Thirty minutes, free. Tell us the date, the guests and the kind of day you picture; we tell you honestly how we would help.
2
Proposal and budget
Within a week: what we would do, the fee, and a budget split by supplier so you can see where the money goes.
3
Venue and suppliers
We shortlist venues and suppliers that fit, visit with you and book the ones you choose. You pay them directly.
4
The final details
Six weeks before: the table plan, the order of the day and a supplier sheet with every arrival time and phone number.
5
The day
We arrive before the first supplier and leave after the last one. You do not need to answer your phone all day.
The order of the day
Every couple gets one: a timed run of the day that the venue, the caterer, the band and the photographer all work from. This is Mira and Joel’s (sample).
10:00
Florist and stylist arrive at the barn
We check the table plan against the room and lay the place cards.
12:30
Guests arrive, drinks in the orchard
Ushers hand out the order of service; parking by the gate.
13:00
Ceremony under the old pear trees
Thirty minutes; chairs move indoors if it rains.
13:45
Photographs and canapés
Family photos first, from a list we agreed with you.
15:30
Wedding breakfast
Seventy guests at nine tables; eight meal notes with the caterer.
17:30
Speeches
Three speeches, ten minutes each, before the cake.
19:30
First dance and the band
Evening guests arrive at 19:00.
00:30
Carriages
Taxis booked for 00:30 from the front gate.
Venues we know well
We work anywhere, but these rooms we know to the chair. Each one is drawn as the number of round tables of eight it seats for a meal, with space left for the dance floor.
The Orchard Barn
Country, 20 minutes from Springfield
An oak-framed barn at the end of an apple orchard. Ceremonies under the trees in summer, by the fire in winter. Exclusive use, bring your own caterer.
96 seated, 12 tables of eight
Larch Hall
Country house, Larch Valley
A Georgian house with a long lawn, a walled garden for drinks and a ballroom with a sprung floor. In-house kitchen; rooms for 30 guests.
120 seated, 15 tables of eight
Millbrook Farm
Working farm, Millbrook
A smaller threshing barn on a family farm with a meadow for a tipi. Good for relaxed weddings and long tables; camping for guests.
64 seated, 8 tables of eight
The Glasshouse
City, Springfield centre
A Victorian glasshouse on the river with brick walls and a courtyard. Ten minutes from the station; the ceremony and the meal in one room.
80 seated, 10 tables of eight
Venue names and capacities (sample). We are not paid by any venue.
Recent weddings
Two days from last summer, planned from the first call (sample).
Mira and Joel, The Orchard Barn, 70 guests, full planning (sample)
Ana and Sam, Larch Hall, 112 guests, partial planning (sample)
“We never once looked at our phones. Nora had the rain plan ready before we had even thought about the weather.”
Sample couple, married at The Orchard Barn
Planning notes
Choosing a ceremony layout that everyone can see
Straight rows, curved rows or in the round: what works for 40, 80 and 120 guests (sample).
Flowers that still look fresh at the evening party
Questions to ask your florist so the centrepieces last from the ceremony to the first dance (sample).
Questions couples ask
Anything else, ask on the first call. It is free and there is no obligation.
When should we book a planner?
For full planning, 12 to 18 months ahead, before the venue. For partial planning, about six months. For on-the-day coordination, at least eight weeks before the wedding.
Do you only work at the venues on this site?
No. We plan weddings anywhere within about two hours of Springfield, and abroad for full planning. The venues listed are simply the ones we know best.
Do you take commission from suppliers?
No. You pay suppliers directly and our fee is the only thing we earn, so our recommendations are based on what suits your day.
How do payments work?
A 25% deposit holds your date, then the rest in three payments, the last one month before the wedding (sample terms).
Can you help with a small budget?
Yes. Partial planning and on-the-day coordination suit smaller weddings, and we will tell you on the first call where a budget goes furthest.
Tell us your date
Send the date or the season, the rough guest count and the venue if you have one. We reply within two working days with times for a free first call.