Wedding Table Seating Plan

Who this is for

Put every guest at a table and keep every table within its seats. A register lists each table with its shape, the seats the venue has confirmed and how many are filled, and works out what is spare; the guest list gives each person a table, a seat if you use them and any dietary, access or high chair note.

Couples working out the table plan once the replies are in, and the parent or friend who has been handed the guest list and a box of place cards.

What this helps you track

• Each table's shape, seats and how many places are still free
• Which table, and which seat if you use them, each guest has
• Dietary, access and high chair notes beside the guest they belong to
• Who sits at the top table, in order, and who must be kept apart
• Confirmed guests still waiting for a place

How to use it

1. Write the couple, the date, the venue and room and the number of confirmed guests at the top, from your final replies.
2. List every table in the register with its shape and the number of seats the venue has confirmed for it.
3. Write the top table order left to right, then place the guests who need to be near family, an exit or a step-free route.
4. Give every other guest a table, count each table's filled seats into the register and check the spare column never drops below zero.
5. The spare seats and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, subtract and count by hand.
6. Sketch the room on the grid at the end so the venue can see where each table goes.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is this different from the guest list and RSVP tracker?

The guest list and RSVP tracker follows invitations and replies, one row per household. This plan starts once the replies are in: one row per person, each placed at a table, with the register checking that no table is over its seats.

How many guests should sit at each table?

That depends on the tables your venue has and how it lays them out, so the sheet gives no number. Ask the venue for the seats at each table and write them in; the spare column shows the room you have left.

Does the workbook count the guests at each table for me?

It counts every guest who has a table and compares that with your confirmed number. The filled column in the register is counted by you from the guest list; sorting the list by table in the workbook makes that quick.

Where do dietary needs go?

In the guest's own row, so the note travels with the seat. The catering numbers and dietary list turns them into the totals a caterer asks for.

What does a minus figure in the spare column mean?

More people are written at that table than it seats. The summary shows the lowest spare figure across all the tables, so one overfull table is easy to find.