Wedding seating chart: how to make one, who sits where and when to finish it

How to make a wedding seating chart, step by step

A wedding seating chart is built from the guests who have RSVPed yes, not from the list of people you invited: every table fills with people who are actually coming. Plan on two or three evenings and six steps:

• Wait for the RSVP deadline and chase the missing replies: a chart built on maybes gets rebuilt twice.
• Count everyone who is coming, plus-ones and kids included, and divide by the table size your venue uses: 120 guests at tables of 10 is 12 tables, plus the head table if it sits apart.
• Sort guests into groups: her family, his family, high school friends, college friends, coworkers. Each group becomes one or two tables.
• Seat the head table and the parents’ tables first, then the biggest groups, and finish with the guests who are coming on their own.
• Check that no table is over capacity and that nobody is left without a table.
• Send the final chart to your caterer and venue, then make the display sign and, if you use them, escort cards or place cards.

When to do the wedding seating chart

Start the seating chart once your RSVP deadline has passed, usually three to four weeks before the wedding, and finish it one to two weeks out: that is when most caterers and venues ask for the final head count and table layout. You can sketch the big groups earlier, but don’t seat anyone by name until they have replied (to nudge the late ones, see how to word and track wedding RSVPs). When it’s ready, a short note is enough to send it to your caterer with the PDF:

“Hi! Here is our final seating chart: a head table of 6 and 12 tables of 10, so 126 guests in total, with the 8 kids at table 12. The guest list for each table is in the attached PDF.”

Wedding seating chart rules that keep the peace

• Couples and plus-ones sit together. The old rule of splitting couples and alternating men and women is rarely followed today.
• Every guest should know at least two people at their table: that is the rule that matters most.
• Parents and grandparents sit closest to the couple, and older guests away from the speakers and near the exit.
• Young kids sit with their parents; from about age 5 or 6, a kids’ table near their parents works well.
• Seat people who don’t get along at tables far apart, without making it a topic: nobody needs to know why.
• Skip the forced singles table: a table of friends who share something in common works better.

Head table or sweetheart table?

A head table usually seats the couple with the wedding party, often along one long table facing the room; with a large wedding party it may hold only the maid of honor, the best man and their partners, and the parents get their own tables right next to it. A sweetheart table is a small table just for the two of you: nobody has to decide who makes the cut, and you can see the whole room. Many couples who choose it seat both sets of parents at the two closest tables.

Round tables, long tables or a U: how many tables you need

A 60-inch round table seats 8 to 10 guests and a 72-inch round seats 10 to 12; 60-inch rounds are the most common rental, so 120 guests means 12 to 15 tables. Long banquet or farm tables are counted by length: allow about 24 inches per guest, so an 8-foot banquet table seats 8, or 10 with one guest at each end. A U-shaped layout with the couple at the center works for weddings under about 60 guests; past that it gets long and the far ends can’t see you. Always ask your venue for its floor plan and how many tables it has before you seat anyone.

How to display the seating chart: by table or alphabetical

A seating chart display comes in two styles: table by table, with the names under each table, or alphabetical, with each name followed by a table number. The first looks nicer and works up to about 100 guests; past that, alphabetical is faster, because people look for their name, not their table. The most common sign sizes are 18 × 24 inches for smaller weddings and 24 × 36 inches for 100 guests or more, and two signs side by side avoid a line at the door. Escort cards do the same job with one card per guest; place cards sit on the table and mark each guest’s exact seat, which is mostly useful at a plated dinner where guests chose their entrée in advance.

Make your seating chart online for free from your RSVPs

In QRinvites the seating chart starts from the RSVPs themselves: each guest replies on the online invitation, with the name of every plus-one, and shows up in the Tables tab of your dashboard. You create each table with a name and a number of seats (10 by default), and every guest who is coming appears under “Not seated yet”, tagged with the group you gave them in the guest list (family, friends, work…); pick a table for them and you’re done. The Seated, Unseated and Seats created counters tell you where you stand, a table over capacity turns red, and “Download PDF” gives you every table with its guests, for your caterer or for whoever is lettering the sign. Guests who replied by phone can be added by hand in the Guests tab. Your guests never see the seating chart: it stays in your dashboard. It’s free; try it in the dashboard of a 200-guest wedding (20 tables of 10, already filled), or design your invitation without an account: Google sign-in is only needed when you publish.