Wedding Seating Chart Maker for iPhone and iPad
The fastest way to make a wedding seating chart is on the device where your guest list already lives. Seat Maker turns your list into a reception layout you can rearrange as RSVPs change, then export for your venue, caterer, and stationer.
This guide walks through the wedding-specific parts: head table choices, family politics, and the timeline for when to actually do this.
How to do it in Seat Maker
- Step 1
Import the guest list
Pull confirmed guests from Contacts or CSV, grouped by household.
- Step 2
Set the table count
Match your venue's floor plan: rounds, rectangles, and the head or sweetheart table.
- Step 3
Lock the anchor seats
Couple, wedding party, parents, grandparents. Locked seats survive every change after.
- Step 4
Shuffle and refine
Generate arrangements for everyone else, then drag to resolve the last conflicts.
- Step 5
Export for the venue
PDF for the coordinator, image for family, and an alphabetical list for escort cards.
Before you start: RSVPs and guest groups
Do not build the final chart before RSVPs close; you will rebuild it. What you can do early is group: households, college friends, coworkers, and the handful of guests who know nobody. Groups become tables almost automatically once counts are final.
Import your list into Seat Maker early and tag the groups as you go. When the last RSVP lands, the hard thinking is already done.
Head table, sweetheart table, and parents
A head table seats the wedding party (with or without dates: decide early, it changes counts). A sweetheart table seats just the couple, which frees the wedding party to sit with their dates and often defuses more drama than it creates.
Parents traditionally host their own tables with close family. If parents are divorced, two parent tables is standard and nobody questions it.
The family-politics playbook
Every wedding has a pair of guests who should not share a table. Handle it structurally: same side of the room is fine, same table is not. Lock the seats of the guests involved so a late shuffle never undoes the diplomacy.
Guests who know nobody get seated next to your most welcoming friends, not with each other at a leftovers table.
Timeline: when to finalize
Rough table count at 6 weeks out, first real draft when RSVPs close (usually 3 to 4 weeks out), final chart to the venue and stationer 1 to 2 weeks out. Keep the app version as the single source of truth; paper printouts go stale the moment one aunt cancels.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free wedding seating chart maker?
Seat Maker is free to download, needs no account, and handles guest import, drag-and-drop tables, VIP locks, and venue export on iPhone and iPad.
Learn moreWhen should you make your wedding seating chart?
Draft when RSVPs close, 3 to 4 weeks out, and finalize 1 to 2 weeks before the day. Group guests earlier so the draft comes together fast.
Does the wedding party sit with their dates?
Either works. A full head table traditionally excludes dates; a sweetheart table for the couple lets the wedding party sit with their dates. Decide before you count seats.
How many guests fit at a 60-inch round table?
Eight comfortably, ten if the venue uses smaller place settings. Confirm with your caterer before locking counts.
Learn moreIs there a wedding seating chart generator that arranges guests automatically?
Yes. Lock the head table and family anchors in Seat Maker, then shuffle to auto-arrange the remaining guests. Re-shuffle until it works.
Learn moreRelated guides
Seat Maker features used in this guide
Ready to build your seating chart?
Free download for iPhone and iPad. No account needed to start.
Download Seat Maker