When planning seating arrangements for a wedding, one might gain a slight understanding of the complexities involved in creating the seating chart for the Met Gala. This task is crucial and demands significant time from the team, who strategically position guests based on shared interests.
“Considerable thought is dedicated to who sits next to whom, whether they were seated together last year, or if they have shared seats at other events; the intricacies are astonishing,” said Ward Durrett in The First Monday in May. “It’s a lot of power-brokering.”
Naturally, each year, the seating arrangements undergo numerous modifications as the event evolves. Durrett mentioned to Vogue that she quickly learned to favor Velcro over post-it notes to prevent mistakes. “There have been many iterations of the seating chart,” she explained. “Initially, we used little stickies, and it was chaotic—things would fall off, we lost people, and names were rewritten countless times throughout the day.”
Color-coding is also implemented, as Durrett prefers a woman-man-woman-man seating pattern whenever feasible. Another surprising guideline is: “Never seat spouses next to each other,” she advised. “The objective of these events is to connect with new individuals and engage with what others are doing. What’s the purpose of coming here just to spend time with your husband?” Sorry, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds!
