How to make a wedding seating chart in Excel or Google Sheets

A spreadsheet layout that works for a wedding seating chart, the formulas that catch overfull tables and unseated guests, and when a spreadsheet stops being enough.

The short answer

Use one row per guest, not one tab per table. Give each row the guest's name, their party or household, their meal choice and a Table column. Then add a small summary that counts guests per table and flags any table that is over capacity or any guest without a table. Sort by Table when you're done to get a list for the caterer, and sort by surname to get the chart for guests.

The layout

Columns for a wedding seating spreadsheet: Last name, Garcia, Sorting the guest-facing chart; First name, Maria, Telling guests with the same surname apart; Party, Garcia family, Keeping households and couples together; Side or group, Bride, college, Seating friend groups together; RSVP, Yes, Only seat the confirmed yes answers; Meal, Chicken, The caterer's count by table; Dietary needs, Nut allergy, Flagging the table for the caterer; Table, 6, The one column you edit while planning; Notes, Keep away from table 9, Anything you need to remember.

The formulas that do the checking

Put a small summary on a second sheet with one row per table number (1, 2, 3...) in column A and the table's capacity in column C. These work the same way in Excel and Google Sheets; replace Guests with your first sheet's name.

Getting the two lists you need

For guests: sort by Last name, then First name, and print Name and Table. That is your alphabetical seating chart. For the caterer: sort by Table, then use the meal-count formula for each table, and list dietary needs by table.

Where a spreadsheet stops being enough

A spreadsheet is fine for the list. It is weak at the part of seating that is really about the room:

Is there a free wedding seating chart template for Excel or Google Sheets?

You can build one in a few minutes with the columns above: one row per guest with a Table column, plus a summary sheet that counts guests per table.

How do I count how many guests are at each table in Google Sheets?

List the table numbers in a column, then use COUNTIF on the Table column of your guest sheet for each number, for example =COUNTIF(Guests!H:H, A2).

Should I make one tab per table?

No. Keep one row per guest with a Table column. Moving someone is then a single edit, and the counts update themselves.