How to make a wedding seating plan, one table at a time.

The short answer

Confirm the usable room layout and table capacities with your venue, then assign attending guests to tables. Check access and practical requirements before printing anything. A beautiful diagram is not enough if it disagrees with the venue’s actual layout.

Get the room facts first

Ask which layouts the venue can accommodate, what table sizes are available and whether capacity changes with highchairs or accessibility requirements. Agree where service routes, entrances and other fixed features need to remain clear.

Separate a table-assignment plan from an individual place-setting plan. You may only need the first while replies are coming in. The venue remains the source of truth for physical dimensions, access and safe capacity.

Build groups before filling every seat

Begin with people who know each other or would be comfortable together. Mark practical constraints privately: someone may need a particular position or an easy route out of the room. Ask rather than assume.

Treat a couple’s preference as a conversation, not a rigid rule that forces an awkward table elsewhere. Leave flexibility while attendance is pending, but distinguish tentative placements from confirmed ones.

Run this check before calling it finished

Use a named guest list, not only a head count. Ten occupied seats can still hide one missing guest and one duplicate assignment.

• Each attending dinner guest appears once.
• Each table is within the capacity agreed with the venue.
• Unconfirmed guests are clearly marked in the working version.
• Names match the meal list and place cards.
• Required positions have been discussed with the people concerned.
• The venue and caterer are working from the same dated version.

Handle changes without rebuilding everything

If a guest declines, remove their assignment and recheck the table rather than shifting everyone immediately. If a new guest is confirmed, look for a suitable group and verify the available place before adding another chair.

Keep a simple change note: who moved, which table changed and who needs the revised list. A plan saved on your laptop is not an updated caterer briefing until you have shared it.

What Wedley helps with

Configure table names, capacities and shapes, assign guests and see who remains unseated. The same people stay connected to your guest list rather than becoming another spreadsheet to reconcile.

Wedley is not a scale drawing or a venue-certified floor plan. Use it to organise assignments, and get the physical layout confirmed by the venue. Start with the table-check worksheet in the free kit below.