How to use the seating chart maker
- Set the number of tables and the seats per table, then type your guests in the box, one per line. A line can be just a name, a name and a group after a | sign, or a name, a group and a table number, as in Leo Grant | | 1.
- Guests with the same group are seated together whenever they fit at one table. A table number pins that guest to that table before anyone else is placed. Everyone else is placed so that tables fill evenly.
- The plan updates as you type. Shuffle again changes the shuffle number, which re-mixes the guests who have no group and no table while keeping groups together and pinned guests where you put them. The same shuffle number always gives the same plan.
- Use Download PNG or Download SVG for a picture with one card per table, Download CSV for a list of every guest with a table and seat number, or Copy plan for plain text.
Twelve guests at three tables of four
The sample has twelve guests and exactly twelve seats. Leo Grant is pinned to table 1. The work friends are a group of four, so they fill table 2. The Ruiz family is a group of three and goes to table 3, which is empty and has four free seats. The Cole family is a group of two and goes to table 1, where three seats are still free.
That leaves two guests with no group, Jun Park and Mia Rossi. They fill the last open seat at table 1 and the last open seat at table 3, which brings every table to four. The summary reads 12 guests at 3 tables, 0 seats left empty.
How guests are placed
Guests with a table number go first. Each group is then placed, largest group first, at the table with the most free seats that can hold the whole group. Ties go to the lower table number. Groups are matched without regard to capital letters, so Fam and fam are one group. Guests with no group are shuffled using your shuffle number and then dropped, one at a time, into the table with the most free seats.
If a group is bigger than any single table has room for, it is split across the tables with the most free seats, starting with the emptiest. Check the picture afterward, because splitting is the one case where a group is not all together.
Fixing a plan that does not fit
If there are more guests than seats, the message says how many more seats you need. Add a table or raise the seats per table. If you pin more guests to a table than it has seats, the message names the line that overflows, so you can move one of them.
Lines are checked one by one, and a line with no name, a table number outside the range, or more than two | signs is reported with its line number. Blank lines are ignored.
Using the plan
The picture shows each table as a card with numbered seats, with dashed lines for seats that are empty. Hover over a name to see its group. The CSV is handy for a place-card mail merge or for sharing the list in a spreadsheet. For the day itself, a wedding day timeline helps you plan when guests sit down, and the guest list manager keeps track of replies.
Privacy and limits
Everything is done in your browser. Names are never sent anywhere, and they are escaped before they go into the picture, so markup typed into a name shows up as plain text. A plan can have up to 300 guests, 40 tables and 24 seats per table.
Assumptions and limits
- The tool balances table sizes and keeps groups together. It does not know who gets along, so it cannot keep people apart or place couples next to each other at a table.
- Seats at a table are numbered in the order guests are added, and the number does not describe where the seat is around the table.
- Group names are compared without regard to capital letters but must otherwise match exactly, including spaces inside the name.
- All tables are the same size. A head table or a table of a different size can be planned by pinning guests and leaving seats empty.
Frequently asked questions
How do I keep a family together?
Type the same group after a | sign on each family member's line. They are seated at one table when the group fits, and split only if it is larger than a table.
Can I choose the exact table for one person?
Yes. Add the table number as the third part of the line, and leave the group empty if the person has none, as in Leo Grant | | 1.
Why does Shuffle again keep some guests where they are?
Only guests with no group and no table number are shuffled. Groups and pinned guests keep their places so the plan stays sensible.
Does the seating plan leave my device?
No. The plan is worked out and drawn in your browser tab, and downloads are made on your device.