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traditions By Gay McLeskey A wedding is so much more than just one day. If you will be hosting a dinner for the happy couple during their engagement, you want your table to look its best. Whether the event is casual or formal, here are some guidelines on setting the table. SEATING ARRANGEMENTS First, determine how many guests there will be and where they will sit. Tra- ditionally, the male guest of honor is seated on the hostess’s right hand side. The female guest of honor is seated on the host’s right side. When seating the rest of your guests, deter- mine who would interact best with each other. Name cards are always a good idea and help to avoid confusion of who sits where. TABLE COVERINGS It is best to iron the table cloth so it will look fresh and wrinkle free. Ideally, the tablecloth should hang down about a foot and a half on all sides. Unless it is an outdoor picnic, plates should never be set on a bare table. FLATWARE Flatware is placed on the table in the order it will be used. Flatware that will be used first should be set to the farthest left and right sides of the plate. Forks are always set to the left of the plate, and knives and spoons are set to the right. To remember which uten- sils go on which sides of the plate, remember the words left and right. Left has four letters, as does fork. Right has five letters, as do knife and spoon. The knife should be placed closest to the plate, with the cutting edge toward the plate. The spoon is placed at the outer right of the setting. Place utensils about 1 inch above the edge of the table. For more casual set- tings, and if the salad will be served first, start with the salad fork to the far left, fol- lowed by the dinner fork, plate with napkin folded on top, butter knife, and spoon. For formal settings, from left to right, place a folded cloth napkin, fish fork, dinner fork, salad fork, dinner plate, dinner knife, fish knife, and soup spoon. The dessert spoon or fork is placed directly above the plate, parallel to the setting. Dessert spoons can also be set out when serving des- sert. DINNERWARE Dinner plates are placed about 2 inches from the table’s edge, squarely in front of the chair. For a formal dinner, place the salad plate directly to the left of the forks. The bread plate should be placed above the forks Soup bowls are placed on top of the dinner plates. Coffee cups and saucers should be placed on the table to the right of the knife and spoon. GLASSWARE Glassware is set to the right of the setting, above the knife and spoon. Start with the water goblet, fol- lowed by the red wine goblet and white wine goblet to the right. If you are not serving wine, eliminate those from your table setting altogether. FINISHING TOUCHES Before guests arrive, water goblets should be the only glass prefilled, and salad and bread should be the only food on the table. Choose music that compli- ments your dinner menu and guests. Keep the volume low. As hostess, you are always the last to be seated. Greet your guests with a warm welcome, and enjoy. The Art of Table Setting 48 | TOWN BRIDE SPRING 2020