Free seating plan template for functions, weddings and restaurants
By Bruno Melani, founder of Gaplessly · · 3 min read
The short answer
Gaplessly's free seating plan template is a Word file for functions, weddings and restaurants.
Two pages hold 16 tables of ten, with a line for each guest and their dietary needs, one page is a squared grid for sketching the room, and one lists a restaurant's tables by area, seats and section.
Type over the shaded parts, then print it.
Every guest. Every table. One file.
Free Word template · four A4 landscape pages
Type a guest on each line, sketch the room on the grid, and copy a page if you need more tables. Free, no sign-up.
What the seating plan template includes
- Pages 1 and 2: tables 1 to 16, each with a table name and ten numbered guest lines. Delete a line for a table of eight, or copy a page for a bigger event.
- Page 3: a squared room layout. Set the scale, then mark the doors, bar, stage, dance floor and fire exits, and number each table to match.
- Page 4: a restaurant seating plan listing each table with its area, shape, seats, what it joins with, its section and any notes.
How to make a seating plan for a function
- Get the room first. Ask the venue how many tables fit, what shape they are and how many seats each one takes.
- Sketch the layout on the grid before you place anyone, so you know which tables are near the speakers, the bar and the doors.
- Fill the top table and the family or team groups, then work outwards. Leave the people who know nobody until you can see who they would sit well with.
- Note dietary needs beside each name, because that is what the kitchen and floor team need on the night.
- Give the venue the final version by the date on your function sheet, and keep one copy at the door.
A restaurant seating plan is a different job
A wedding plan seats named guests once. A restaurant seating plan is the table list a host works from every service: which tables are in which area, how many seats each one takes and which ones join for a bigger party. Page 4 of the file holds that list, and the section column lets you see how many covers each server carries.
When the paper version stops keeping up, Gaplessly holds the same information as a live floor plan. You draw the room with tables, booths, bars, walls and doors, and run service from a view of every table. Rooms and table combining are included from Venue Growth up, with no commission and no fee per cover.