Free Seating Chart Builder
Paste your guest list, group families under named tables, and print the seating chart with a find-your-seat list.
What is a Seating Chart Builder?
A seating chart shows who sits where at a wedding, dinner, conference or classroom. This builder turns a plain guest list into a printable chart of round tables, banquet tables or rows of seats, and adds an alphabetical find-your-seat list for the door.
Write one guest per line. A line starting with two equals signs begins a new table and names it, so families and groups stay together, and everyone else fills the tables in order. Names shrink to fit their seats, empty seats are shaded, and the check warns about duplicates, groups too big for a table and names that won’t fit.
Key Features
Three Layouts
Round tables, banquet tables with seats on both sides, or classroom and theatre rows.
Named Groups
Start a table with == Head table to keep a family or team together.
Find Your Seat
An alphabetical list of every guest and their table, printed after the chart.
Seating Check
Duplicates, overfull groups and names too long for a seat.
Print-Ready PDF
Letter or A4, landscape or portrait, with the same pages as the preview.
Perfect for everyone
- Couples
- Event planners
- Teachers
- Venue staff and anyone hosting a seated meal
How to Use the Seating Chart Builder
Paste your guest list from a spreadsheet or an RSVP export, one name per line. The chart, the table list and the check update as you type, so you can move people between tables by moving their lines.
Paste the Guests
One name per line, in the order you want them seated.
Group the Tables
Start a group with == and a table name; a blank line ends it.
Pick the Tables
Choose round, banquet or rows, and the seats per table.
Print the Chart
Download the PDF with the chart and the find-your-seat list.
Guest Lists, Seated
Each row is a guest list of the kind couples, planners and teachers seat, from a wedding with family tables to lists with mistakes. Each answer is this tool’s check or its table-by-table list, as the chart pages are drawn from the same seating.
“title: Priya & Tom’s Wedding shape: round seats: 8 paper: letter orientation: landscape == Head table Priya Shah Tom Ellis Anika Shah Dev Shah Sarah Ellis Mark Ellis == Shah family Raj Shah Meera Shah Kiran Shah Leela Shah Arjun Mehta Nisha Mehta == Ellis family Joan Ellis Peter Ellis Hannah Ellis-Grant Ollie Grant Chloe Martin Sam Okafor Lucy Brennan Ben Carter Zara Ali Jack Murphy Emma Wilson Noah Clarke Ava Thompson Leo Fischer”
“title: Priya & Tom’s Wedding shape: round seats: 8 paper: letter orientation: landscape == Head table Priya Shah Tom Ellis Anika Shah Dev Shah Sarah Ellis Mark Ellis == Shah family Raj Shah Meera Shah Kiran Shah Leela Shah Arjun Mehta Nisha Mehta == Ellis family Joan Ellis Peter Ellis Hannah Ellis-Grant Ollie Grant Chloe Martin Sam Okafor Lucy Brennan Ben Carter Zara Ali Jack Murphy Emma Wilson Noah Clarke Ava Thompson Leo Fischer”
“title: Room 12 seating shape: rows seats: 6 orientation: landscape == Row A Amira Ben Cleo Daniel Esme Finn == Row B Grace Hugo Isla Jonah Kai Lena”
“title: Board dinner shape: rectangle seats: 12 == Board A. Chen B. Okoro C. Lindqvist D. Russo E. Haddad F. Novak G. Silva H. Tanaka I. Murphy J. Kowalski”
“shape: round seats: 6 tables: 4 Ada Ben Cleo Dev Esme Finn Gus”
“seats: 4 == Grandparents Mary John Ruth George Edith”
“seats: 6 Sam Lee Priya Nair Sam Lee Jo Park”
“shape: rows seats: 12 Maximilian Alexander von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen the Third”
“seats: 8 == Família João Zoë Δημήτρης Алексей”
“shape: square seats: 30 menu: fish”
Writing the Guest List
The settings go at the top as a name, a colon and a value; the guests follow after a blank line. These are the settings and the two pieces of list syntax that decide which table each guest lands at.
One Guest per Line
Each line is a guest; a leading hyphen or bullet is ignored.
“How do you add a guest?”
== Table Name
Starts a new table with that name; the guests below sit there.
“How do you name the head table?”
Blank Line
Ends a named group, so the next guest starts a fresh table.
“What ends a family group?”
shape
round, rectangle (banquet) or rows (classroom or theatre).
“Which suits a classroom?”
seats
Seats per table or row, from 2 to 24. The default is 8.
“How many seats at a typical round table?”
tables
A fixed number of tables; extra ones print empty.
“How do you print 12 tables for 90 guests?”
title
A heading printed above the chart.
“What does title add?”
paper and orientation
letter or a4, landscape or portrait.
“Which fits more round tables across?”
Choosing Tables
The table shape changes how a room feels and how many people can talk to each other. Matching the chart to the venue’s real furniture keeps the printed plan honest, so ask the venue what they have before you plan.
Round Tables
Everyone can see and talk to everyone; 8 to 10 seats is typical at a wedding.
Banquet Tables
Long tables seat more people in less space, with guests on both sides.
Rows
Classrooms, ceremonies and talks, where everyone faces the front.
Head Table
Name it first so it prints first, and seat it facing the room.
Spare Seats
Leave one or two empty seats per table for late changes.
Planning the Seating
A good seating plan is mostly about people, not furniture. A few habits make the day smoother for guests and for whoever is answering questions at the door, and they are easy to build into the list before you print anything.
Group by Connection
Seat people who know each other, then mix one or two friendly faces in.
Keep Notes Elsewhere
Dietary needs belong on the caterer’s list, not the chart.
Print Twice
Put one chart at the door and keep one with the planner.
Alphabetical Lookup
The find-your-seat list stops a queue forming at the chart.
Final Check
Run the check after the last RSVP to catch duplicates.
When to Use a Seating Chart Builder
Whenever more than a handful of people need to know where to sit, and a printed chart is quicker than answering everyone’s question at the door. It also gives venue staff a clear plan they can set the room from.
Weddings
Family tables, a head table and an escort list for the entrance.
Dinners and Galas
Sponsors, speakers and guests at named tables.
Classrooms
Rows of desks with each student’s name, for a supply teacher.
Conferences
Workshop groups and table numbers for networking sessions.
Family Gatherings
Holiday meals with the children’s table planned in advance.
Seating Chart Pitfalls
Mistakes that send guests to the wrong place or leave someone out, most of which the check spots before you print the chart.
Groups Too Big
A named group larger than the table spills onto the next one.
Duplicates From Exports
RSVP exports often list a guest twice. The check flags it.
Very Long Names
Long names shrink to fit; past the smallest size, use a shorter form.
Forgetting Plus-Ones
Add each partner as their own line so a seat is kept.
Last-Minute Changes
Print from the latest list, not an earlier PDF.
Scripts the Font Lacks
The PDF’s font can’t draw Greek, Cyrillic or Asian names.