Head Table chaos

So I had this discussion with a fellow wedding planning friend about the questions of a head table or no head table, what she wants to do, what we're doing, etc.

 

Here's what The Knot says about a head table:

 

Head Up the Head Table

 

A traditional head table is not round, but long and straight, and it is generally set up along a wall, on risers, facing all the other reception tables. It may even have two tiers if your wedding party is large. Usually the bride and groom sit smack-dab in the middle (where everyone can see them), with the maid of honor next to the groom, the best man next to the bride, and then boy/girl out from there. Flower girls or ring bearers usually sit at the tables where their parents are seating, much to the relief of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Decide to seat this way, or plan a sweetheart table for a little one-on-one time.
 
My friend wants to do a head table, which I think is a great idea for a few reasons.

• The entire bridal party knows each other. All the girls, all the guys, we've all known each other since high school, so there will be no awkwardness...except for the girls who have dated the guys...oh wait...that's me. Anyway...
• Most of the bridal party is single or has significant others who are cool by themselves. My fiance will have my brothers and family there, so he'll be more than entertained, one of the guy's wife is another high school friend, so she'll know plenty of people. No need for the head table to eat, then jet, because they have no one to get back to.

We've decided to do the sweetheart table for almost the exact same reasons my friend wants to do a head table:

• My bridesmaids are all from different groups in my life. A few of them know each other, but mostly they're all from different times in my life. 1 is my sophomore year roommate, 1 is my bff from freshman year of college on, another is my sorority friend, 1 is my Penn State bff and then Tom's sister. All the guys know each other, but none of them have met the girls.
• Almost the entire bridal party is married or engaged. They'll all want to hang out with their significant others and we're stealing them for the entire day pre-reception, so we might as well let them hang out at the reception together right? I've seen head tables where the dates also sit up with the bridal party, but that's getting a little much which goes on to my next point...
• With my brothers as ushers, an uneven number of girls/guys, a junior bridesmaid...well it'd just get complicated and take up a lot of space. It's probably save some time and space to just let them sit elsewhere.
• How long do you really sit at the table? To eat really quick, but then the bride and groom are up and about! So no need to force everyone to be at our table, we'll come to you!

Everyone has different bridal parties, different size reception sites, different ideas of what they want. I wouldn't be concerned with a head table being "passe". It's your day. Do what you want! But there are some ideas and reasons for both the head table and a sweetheart table!