Getting seats together has become more problematic since BA started charging for seat selection.
I was booked on BA from LHR-YYZ last December with Mrs DL in WT, and was keeping an eye on the seat map for availability in the weeks and days leading up to the flight, about 2 days before the flight the seat map went from very empty to pretty full.
I decided to bite the bullet and pay for some seats 2 days before, selecting the pair of seats on their own at the back of the 777.
Seats selected, I didnt get round to checking in on line and left it until the airport. The airport kiosk didnt let me check in and directed us to a desk where we were upgraded to WTP. The flight was overbooked in WT, so I`m wondering if the payment for seats in some way helped us up the priority list for upgrade.
On the way back, we were booked in CW anyway and I easily secured the pair of seats in the middle 24 hours before departure online. I did notice though on the way back that in a full CW cabin, a lot of couples and groups of people were separated so I think the lesson is be pay for seats or risk it but be prompt with the online checkin 24 hours before!