Familiar circles
40 known pairs · 0 across-circle pairs · 1 without a familiar face
A good evening has more than one measure.
INSTRUMENTS / VALUE & POWER
Constructed exampleChange the seats. Inspect the tradeoffs.
Change an input. Inspect every step. Keep a fixed record.
Maya & Rowan’s wedding · 24 guests, four tablesRead the wedding story →
THE ROOM / YOUR WORKING PLAN
Four tables. Twenty-four people.
Maya’s old friends. Rowan’s old friends. The people who helped this weekend happen. Start with the place cards, then read the people.
Fictional relationships · firm requests apply to every arrangement.
02 / OPEN THE MODEL
The place cards are almost ready.
Maya & Rowan’s wedding · 24 guests · 4 tables
Select any guest to inspect their supplied connections. Lines connect known pairs at the same table.
FROM THE COUPLE’S NOTES / FIRM REQUESTS
Alex and Morgan: designated accessible positions.
Different tables: Blair & Harper; Noor & Taylor.
Six guests per table. Every guest seated once.
◇ Designated accessible seat · Lines show supplied connections, not relationship strength.
The constraints every arrangement must satisfy
- Each of 24 guests appears once; six seats per table.
- Alex and Morgan use designated accessible positions (seat 1 at each table).
- Blair and Harper sit at different tables. Noor and Taylor also sit at different tables.
The access and separation requests are in the couple’s notes from the beginning. An original circle is not a complete friendship map. This diagram does not assess the venue’s real accessibility.
40Known pairs togetherpairs
0Across-circle pairspairs
1Without a familiar faceguests
THE PERSON BEHIND THE CARD
Zuri
A newer friend of Rowan’s · arriving solo
Knows Alex from a former job and Georgie from the community garden.
IN THEIR WORDS
“I know the couple, obviously. And Alex—we worked together years ago. Georgie will be there too. I’m looking forward to it, though I’m coming on my own.”
WHAT WE’VE BEEN ASKED
No seating request in the couple’s notes.
Where your interpretation begins
Arriving alone is not a request to be looked after. The plan does show whether any known contact shares Zuri’s table.
0known contacts at this table
Original circle: Neighbors & newer friends. Table 4.
Who Zuri knows in the room (2)
- Former colleagues
- Community-garden volunteers
TRY ONE CHANGE
Move two chairs. See who is affected.
Start with Frankie and Zuri. Inspect the consequences before applying the swap.
Compare three supplied arrangements
CHANGE WHAT YOU VALUE
Which arrangement serves your priority?
Ranks three supplied plans only. Changing this priority does not move anyone. Familiarity favors known pairs; introductions favors cross-circle pairs; inclusion first reduces guests with no known contact.
A familiar face for everyone
37 known pairs · 10 across-circle pairs · 0 without a familiar face
Across circles
7 known pairs · 52 across-circle pairs · 11 without a familiar face
Follow the idea.
A concept, in three framesKeep the guest list.
The same people and constraints apply.
Compare priorities.
Familiarity, introductions and inclusion can differ.
Inspect a swap.
Look at every affected guest, not just the total.
HOLD ONE VERSION STILL
What changes when you change the model?
Keep the current inputs beside your next adjustment.
A WORKING COPY OF THE EVENING
Keep the plan. Keep your reasoning.
You can save at any point. A fixed record keeps the applied seats, your place in the story, and the first plan once you’ve made it.
Return to the wedding story →
Save this experiment
MODEL & LIMITS
What this model leaves open
These are fictional relationships and three supplied arrangements, not a wedding-planning recommendation or a global optimum. A known contact is not a measure of comfort. Cross-circle pairs need not be new acquaintances.
- InputsWhat is supplied?
- DefinitionWhat is counted?
- InferenceWhat follows?
Inspect the exact workings
Four tables × six guests create 4 × (6 × 5 / 2) = 60 unordered pairs at tables. A known pair is counted once when both guests share a table. Individual contact counts sum to twice the known-pair count. Seat adjacency has no extra weight.
Familiar circles: 40 known pairs, zero cross-circle pairs, one guest with no known contact. Swapping Frankie and Zuri: 37 known pairs, ten cross-circle pairs, zero guests without a known contact.
| Guest | Circle | Table / seat | Known at table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex | Maya’s old friends | 1 / 1 | 5 |
| Blair | Maya’s old friends | 1 / 2 | 5 |
| Casey | Maya’s old friends | 1 / 3 | 5 |
| Devon | Maya’s old friends | 1 / 4 | 5 |
| Ellis | Maya’s old friends | 1 / 5 | 5 |
| Frankie | Maya’s old friends | 1 / 6 | 5 |
| Georgie | Rowan’s old friends | 2 / 1 | 5 |
| Harper | Rowan’s old friends | 2 / 2 | 5 |
| Indigo | Rowan’s old friends | 2 / 3 | 5 |
| Jules | Rowan’s old friends | 2 / 4 | 5 |
| Kai | Rowan’s old friends | 2 / 5 | 5 |
| Lane | Rowan’s old friends | 2 / 6 | 5 |
| Morgan | The wedding-weekend crew | 3 / 1 | 2 |
| Noor | The wedding-weekend crew | 3 / 2 | 2 |
| Oakley | The wedding-weekend crew | 3 / 3 | 2 |
| Parker | The wedding-weekend crew | 3 / 4 | 2 |
| Quinn | The wedding-weekend crew | 3 / 5 | 2 |
| Remy | The wedding-weekend crew | 3 / 6 | 2 |
| Sage | Neighbors & newer friends | 4 / 1 | 1 |
| Taylor | Neighbors & newer friends | 4 / 2 | 2 |
| Uma | Neighbors & newer friends | 4 / 3 | 2 |
| Val | Neighbors & newer friends | 4 / 4 | 2 |
| Wren | Neighbors & newer friends | 4 / 5 | 1 |
| Zuri | Neighbors & newer friends | 4 / 6 | 0 |
All supplied relationships (49)
- Alex ↔ Blair Maya’s old circle
- Alex ↔ Casey Maya’s old circle
- Alex ↔ Devon Maya’s old circle
- Alex ↔ Ellis Maya’s old circle
- Alex ↔ Frankie Maya’s old circle
- Blair ↔ Casey Maya’s old circle
- Blair ↔ Devon Maya’s old circle
- Blair ↔ Ellis Maya’s old circle
- Blair ↔ Frankie Maya’s old circle
- Casey ↔ Devon Maya’s old circle
- Casey ↔ Ellis Maya’s old circle
- Casey ↔ Frankie Maya’s old circle
- Devon ↔ Ellis Maya’s old circle
- Devon ↔ Frankie Maya’s old circle
- Ellis ↔ Frankie Maya’s old circle
- Georgie ↔ Harper Rowan’s old circle
- Georgie ↔ Indigo Rowan’s old circle
- Georgie ↔ Jules Rowan’s old circle
- Georgie ↔ Kai Rowan’s old circle
- Georgie ↔ Lane Rowan’s old circle
- Harper ↔ Indigo Rowan’s old circle
- Harper ↔ Jules Rowan’s old circle
- Harper ↔ Kai Rowan’s old circle
- Harper ↔ Lane Rowan’s old circle
- Indigo ↔ Jules Rowan’s old circle
- Indigo ↔ Kai Rowan’s old circle
- Indigo ↔ Lane Rowan’s old circle
- Jules ↔ Kai Rowan’s old circle
- Jules ↔ Lane Rowan’s old circle
- Kai ↔ Lane Rowan’s old circle
- Morgan ↔ Noor Worked together on the wedding weekend
- Noor ↔ Oakley Worked together on the wedding weekend
- Oakley ↔ Parker Worked together on the wedding weekend
- Parker ↔ Quinn Worked together on the wedding weekend
- Quinn ↔ Remy Worked together on the wedding weekend
- Remy ↔ Morgan Worked together on the wedding weekend
- Sage ↔ Taylor Neighborhood connection
- Taylor ↔ Uma Neighborhood connection
- Uma ↔ Val Neighborhood connection
- Val ↔ Wren Neighborhood connection
- Zuri ↔ Alex Former colleagues
- Zuri ↔ Georgie Community-garden volunteers
- Casey ↔ Noor Printmaking-class friends
- Ellis ↔ Taylor Book-group friends
- Indigo ↔ Parker Neighborhood music room
- Kai ↔ Val Colleagues
- Morgan ↔ Sage Cousins
- Quinn ↔ Wren Plant-stand friends
- Frankie ↔ Sage Cousins
Assumptions, sources and evidence status
Original constructed fixture: constructed-wedding-24-v1. seating-v1. No empirical observations are represented by these example counts.
- All guests, relationships and constraints are fictional and supplied. Connections do not measure happiness, compatibility or relationship strength.
- Cross-circle pairs are opportunities to mix; some already know each other. They are not predicted friendships.
- Rankings compare three supplied arrangements, not every feasible seating plan. Designated accessible seats are model constraints, not a venue accessibility assessment.