What\u2019s the secret to a successful dinner party? The seating arrangements, of course.<\/p>\n
Some thought and care\u2014an eye toward which of your friends will have the most in common, who will help bring others out of their shell, and who, for everyone\u2019s sake,<\/em> should be seated at opposite ends of the table\u2014goes a long way. Now, imagine you\u2019re planning a dinner for hundreds of celebrities, designers, industry leaders, and more special guests, all at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for the annual fundraiser for the Costume Institute. How, exactly, does Vogue<\/em> do the seating chart for the Met Gala<\/a>?<\/p>\n It all begins with a seating document as early as December, five months before the event, when the guest list begins to take shape.\u201cThe actual chart does not really come together until about a month before the event, once we have a clearer sense of the room, the layout, and the flow of the evening,\u201d says Sache Taylor, Vogue<\/em>\u2019s director of special events.<\/p>\n A table at the 2019 Met Gala. Look closely and you\u2019ll see Kiernan sat Dapper Dan next to 21 Savage.<\/p>\n <\/span>Photographed by Corey Tenold<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Taylor, along with Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel<\/a> and the rest of the events team, spends practically all of April in a conference room at the Vogue<\/em> office, going over the seating chart, which lives on a large poster board that is kept top secret. Guest names are listed on Velcro tabs known as \u201cLilah labels,\u201d named after their inventor, Vogue<\/em>\u2019s own Lilah Ramzi<\/a>. The Velcro is key, because the chart is a \u201cconstantly moving puzzle,\u201d Taylor says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are still making adjustments right up until the very end. It\u2019s not just the guests that are changing, but the floor plan as well, so we are continuously refining as things shift. It\u2019s part strategy, part instinct, and occasionally a bit of musical chairs,\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/5cd0a355a35da7317830b67a\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/02-%2520table-settings-decor-met-gala-2019.jpg\"\/)
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