Turn Your Excel Wedding Table Plan Into a Seating Chart

You've already done the hard work. Every guest has a table number in Excel (or Google Sheets, or a CSV), the tricky combinations are sorted, and the venue knows how many seats each table holds. What you still need is something guests can actually read at the entrance — a proper seating chart, not a spreadsheet screenshot taped to an easel.

A table plan and a seating chart are not the same thing. Your spreadsheet is the working document. The chart is the guest-facing display: clear table headings, readable names, and ideally an A–Z finder so people aren't stuck in a queue squinting at Table Twelve. If your tables are already assigned, turning that list into a print-ready chart should take about a minute, not another evening of formatting.

You've already done the hard part

Deciding who sits where is the puzzle. Formatting the poster is the admin. Once every name has a table, you do not need drag-and-drop floor plans or another round of "who's next to Uncle Dave" — you need a clean chart from the list you already trust.

WedSeatly is built for that moment. It takes a guest list that already has table assignments — Excel, CSV or a list you paste in — and turns it into a print-ready seating chart. It does not assign tables for you, it does not draw a room layout, and there is no drag-and-drop seating board. If you still need help placing people, start with our how to make a wedding seating chart guide, then come back here when the spreadsheet is locked.

How to turn an Excel table plan into a seating chart

Check the format: Guest Name and Table

Before you upload, open your sheet and confirm two columns:

• Guest Name — the name exactly as you want it printed (same spelling for every appearance of that person).
• Table — the table number or name (for example 3, Table 3, or Oak).

Extra columns such as dietary notes or plus-one flags are fine to keep in your working file, but the chart only needs the name and the table. If anyone is still marked TBC, finish those seats first. A chart generated from a half-finished list will only need regenerating later.

Starting from an empty file? The free wedding seating chart template is a CSV with Guest Name, Table and optional meal and dietary columns, plus a few sample names to replace.

WedSeatly will not rearrange guests, invent table numbers, or place people on a floor plan. It formats the plan you give it.

Upload or paste, then preview free

On the create page you can upload your Excel or CSV file, or paste the list straight in. Choose a print-safe style and a size, then generate a watermarked preview. That preview is free: check spellings, table headings and overall layout before you spend anything.

If a name looks wrong or a table is missing someone, fix it in your spreadsheet and run the preview again. There is no account to set up and no waiting for a designer.

Download the £4.99 PDF pack

When you're happy with the preview, pay £4.99 for the clean PDF pack. You get:

1. The main seating chart — the display board for the easel or welcome table.
2. An alphabetical guest finder — so guests can look up their surname and go straight to their table. More on that in the guest finder guide.
3. Table-by-table lists — useful for ushers, venue staff and last-minute checks.

Export sizes are A1, A2, A3, 18×24 and 24×36. There is no A0 export. For which size fits your guest count and easel, see seating chart size by guest count, and standard seating chart sizes for printing.

After you buy the pack, the success page may offer an optional matching table set (place cards, table numbers and a welcome sign) in the same style. That add-on is separate from the £4.99 chart pack and only appears once you've purchased.

Why not just format it in Excel?

You can. Plenty of couples have. The snag is what happens when the list changes — and wedding lists almost always change.

Manual poster layout in a spreadsheet means merging cells, guessing column widths, fighting with print scaling, and hoping the venue's A1 print doesn't crop Auntie Pat's name. Long guest lists become hard to scan from a step away. Every late RSVP or swapped table means opening the file again and redoing the layout. An alphabetical finder usually never gets built at all, so guests hunt table by table at the door.

A tool that starts from your finished table plan skips that formatting loop. You keep control of who sits where; you stop spending evenings on column widths. If you're weighing a dedicated tool against a free template, see seating chart app vs template.

Checklist before you start

Work through this before you generate the chart:

1. Final guest list — RSVPs closed enough that you're not expecting a flood of changes.
2. Every guest has a table — no blanks, no "maybe Table 4".
3. Spellings match the invitations — especially hyphenated surnames and preferred first names.
4. Table numbers match the venue — same labels the venue and stationery are using.
5. Print size decided — A1 is the usual UK choice for larger receptions; smaller weddings often suit A2 or A3. Details in the print-size guide.
6. One other person has skimmed the list — a second pair of eyes catches the missing plus-one faster than you will at midnight.

From spreadsheet to venue easel

Here is the short path once the checklist is done:

1. Export or save your sheet as Excel or CSV (or copy the two columns to paste).
2. Open wedseatly.com/create, upload or paste, and pick a style and size.
3. Check the free watermarked preview — names, tables, readability.
4. If it looks right, pay £4.99 for the PDF pack (main chart, A–Z finder, table lists).
5. Send the files to your print shop, or print via an online service, and order a spare copy if you can.
6. Mount on foam board or the venue's preferred board, and place it where guests naturally pause on the way in.

Build in a little time for printing. Many couples lock the chart one to two weeks before the day, then only make emergency swaps. Because the source is still your spreadsheet, regenerating after a last-minute change is straightforward.

Related guides

• How to make a wedding seating chart — if you still need to assign tables.
• Wedding seating chart size for printing — A1, A2, A3, 18×24 and 24×36 by guest count.
• Wedding seating chart guest finder tool — why an A–Z finder sits with the main chart.
• Seating chart app vs template — when a finished table plan beats starting from a blank template.