For most weddings, an alphabetical (A–Z) seating chart works best: guests find their surname and see their table number in seconds, with no queue. A table-by-table chart looks lovely for smaller weddings. Escort cards suit couples who want a display guests take away. Print the chart large enough to read from a metre or two away, and place it where guests arrive at the reception.
A wedding seating chart has one job: getting a room full of people to the right table in a few minutes, while they're holding a drink and chatting. Here's how to pick a style, what to write on it and how big to print it.
A–Z, by table, or escort cards?
Alphabetical (A–Z)
Every guest listed by surname, with their table. Guests scan for their name and walk off. This is the fastest format, and the best one for weddings over about 80 guests. Couples with different surnames can be listed under each surname, so nobody has to remember whose name you used.
Table by table
Each table with its guests listed underneath. It shows who you're sitting with, which guests enjoy, and it looks beautiful on a big board. But guests have to read through tables to find their own name, so at a larger wedding you'll see a crowd forming. Works well up to about 80 guests.
Escort cards
A small card for each guest (or couple) with their name and table, displayed on a table, a board or a wall. Guests take their card. They double as favours if you attach something small, but they take longer to set out and someone needs to put them in order on the day.
Seating chart display ideas
- A large mirror with names written on it or applied as vinyl lettering
- A framed board or canvas on an easel, the classic choice
- Acrylic panels, clear or frosted, for a modern look
- A vintage window frame with the names split across the panes
- A chalkboard, easy to edit on the day if someone drops out
- Escort cards pegged to string on a ladder, a frame or between two trees
- Postcards for each table at a travel-themed wedding
- Wine bottles, each labelled with a table and its guests
- Small plants or succulents with a name tag, which guests take home
- Luggage tags hanging from a branch or a frame
- A "find your seat" QR code so guests can look up their seat on their phone
Seating chart wording
The header sets the tone. Some options:
- Find your seat
- Please find your seat
- Find your seat and raise a glass
- Find your name, find your seat
- Grab a drink and find your seat
- Your seat awaits
- Where you'll be sitting
- Take a seat, we saved you one
- Welcome. Please find your table
- Dinner is served. Please find your seat
- Pull up a chair
- Love is sweet, take a seat
- Here's where you'll be eating, drinking and celebrating with us
Add your names and the date underneath, for example "Kate & Pete, 14 June 2027". It makes the chart a keepsake after the day.
If guests can choose their own seat at their table, say so: "Please find your table. Sit wherever you like." It saves a lot of confused hovering.
What size should you print?
The chart needs to be readable from a metre or two away, by several people at once.
- A1 (594 × 841 mm) or 24 × 36 in suits most weddings of up to about 150 guests
- A2 (420 × 594 mm) or 18 × 24 in works for smaller weddings
- Over 150 guests, use two boards side by side or split the A–Z across two boards (A to K, L to Z)
As a rough guide, names should be at least 1 cm tall to read from 1.5 metres away. If the list is too long to fit at that size, add a column or a second board rather than shrinking the text.
Where to put it
- At the entrance to the reception, not at the ceremony
- In good light. Evening receptions get dark, so check the spot at the time guests will arrive
- With space in front, so a few people can read it at once without blocking the door
- Near the drinks reception, so guests can check their seat with a drink in hand before going in
Before you print
- Proofread every name, and check spellings with families if you're unsure. A misspelled name on a big board is the thing guests remember.
- Print a week before, not the night before. Your venue may want a copy too.
- Keep a pen or spare vinyl letters handy for last-minute changes.
- Match the table names on the chart to the cards on each table. If you've named your tables, keep the number on both. Our table name ideas cover that.
Make the chart from your seating plan
Retyping 120 names onto a board is where mistakes creep in. In our free wedding seating plan maker, the A–Z guest list comes straight from your seating plan and downloads as a PDF. Hand it, or the CSV export, to your stationer or designer and nothing gets lost in copying.
With Premium, guests can also scan a Find your seat sign, type their name and see their table on their phone. That's handy for a big wedding, or as a backup to the board.
If you haven't finished the plan yet, start with our step-by-step seating plan guide.
