As the guest list is complete, it’s time to figure out where everyone will be sitting at the wedding reception. It’s one of those last-minute tasks that sneak up on you and often takes longer than expected. You may wonder if you should include a seating plan in the reception. Generally, if seated dining will be included in the wedding event or if the number of guests exceeds 50, then a seating plan should be included.

Creating a seating chart for a wedding reception doesn’t have to be a nightmare! It can actually be fun once you get the hang of it! By reading this guide, you’ll find instructions on how to create a digital seating plan that will speed up and simplify the entire process.

Why make digital seating plan?

By handwriting a seating plan, you might end up causing more problems than you solve. Paper and sticky notes just don’t have the same features and capabilities as digital seating plan.

  • A digital seating plan is an easy and flexible way to arrange seating for wedding guests. You can view or edit in real-time as you wish, access your seating plan from anywhere, anytime.
  • A clear and straightforward summary about guests special needs for each tables. Accommodate important details like specific dietary needs and meal preferences.
  • Updated versions can be synced and seamless shared with teams to ensure everyone is in the loop when changes are made at the last minute.

  • Easily see where empty seats are located. There are 3 different colours that indicate different statuses. Discover availability and assign seating according 3 different colours. Green represents table full, whereas yellow is half full and grey means table is empty.
  • Monitor guest seating in different perspectives. thebigday.my provides 2 types of view such as grid view and list view make it easy to assign and monitor guest seating.
  • Integrate with guest check-In to speed up check-in and help guests find their seats easily.

The easy way to design your wedding seating plan

While it can be stressful to plan a wedding, but making a seating chart isn’t when you use thebigday.my wedding planning system. You should keep these main considerations in mind no matter how you arrange your guests:

  • Calculate the number of tables needed. Identify the number of guests that will attend, as well as the number of tables that will fit in the space and the number of people that will sit at each table.
  • Organise guests by groups. Having people with similar interests on the same table will give them something to talk about. Besides that, you should group wedding guests into households for group check-in.
  • Get help from your parents to help seat their friends. Let your parents arrange the tables if you are not sure where to seat their friends. They will be happy to have a say in where their friends sit.
  • Think of guests’ needs. The seating arrangement should take special needs into consideration, such as guests with mobility issues and their dietary requests.
  • Invite your teams. It will be easy for them to gather information regarding the seating plan and venue. If any changes need to be made, they will always have the latest information on hand as the seating plan will automatically update.

How to utilise seating plan in thebigday.my

You can add new tables by clicking on the Guest List from the side menu of your wedding account.

  1. Click on the Seating from the navigation menu.
  2. Click on the Add New Seating button.
  3. Enter the number of table count you want to add and the maximum guest per table.
  4. Enable the toggle for Skip number “4” and replace number “4” with “3a” if you need. Click Next button to continue.
  5. Preview the table number you want to add and Confirm button to finish.

Check out our video tutorial

For a more in-depth look at how to create seating plan with thebigday.my, check out our video tutorial.