How Many Chairs?!

We are always asked "How many chairs should I order if I am expecting _____ people?" Well it has been my experience that people tend to order too many chairs. As a rental company I probably shouldn't encourage you to order less but I am also a planner/coordinator and I want what is best for my customers. If you sent out 150 invitations, you probably have a +1 for each person. You will probably only have about half or less of the people actually respond to the RSVP cards you so carefully picked out, stamped and are counting on. Then probably only 2/3 of the people who said they are coming will show so you are sitting there wondering how in the world do I order the right number of chairs?!!! Well that is a great question. There is no right answer but in my experience this is how you can somewhat determine how many.

1. If you are having a wedding in Panama City Beach and you and your family are from out of town, whoever sends the RSVP will more than likely come and your numbers should be pretty firm. I would suggest you get 85% of your audience there if not 95%.
2. If you live in Panama City and have a lot of out-of-town guests you can probably expect 1/2 to 2/3 of the people you think are coming to show up. There are always travel glitches or monetary reasons people can't make the trip even if they fully intend on coming. 
3. If you are from Panama City and most of your guests live in Panama City you can easily expect 3/4 to be there. Typically people will either forget or get invited to another wedding or get caught up n daily life and not show up but most will come because there isn't a lot of travel involved. 

I am not saying I know all and please don't hold me to these statistics but I sure do hope this is a helpful post! It is always better to have a few people standing than have half the chairs empty :)