Acrylic Seating Chart for a Wedding: What to Put On It
An acrylic seating chart displays a wedding guest table assignment on a printed clear panel. What goes on it, the format, and when to order it.
An acrylic seating chart is a clear panel, printed or vinyl-lettered, that displays a wedding guest's table assignment at the reception entrance. Each line pairs a name with a table number, nothing else. The panel is usually set on a stand near the doorway, so arriving guests find their table before they reach the room.
This page covers what data goes on the panel, how to format the list, how the printer gets the final text, and when the order needs to go in before the wedding.
What goes on an acrylic seating chart?
Two fields: each guest's name and their table number. Most Australian couples need this document at all - 83% run allocated seating at the reception, against 9% who let guests choose and 8% who skip seating for a stand-up celebration.1 For the 83%, the acrylic panel is where that assignment becomes something a guest can read on arrival.
Unlike a chalkboard or a framed mirror, the text on an acrylic panel is usually UV-printed or cut from vinyl and applied directly to the surface, not handwritten on site. That makes it durable and even in finish, and it also means the full, final list has to exist before the panel goes into production - there is no touching up a line with chalk once the printer has run the job.
For 85 confirmed guests - the Australian average2 - that is 85 lines on the panel. For 117 guests, the average from The Knot's 2026 study of US couples3, the list runs longer and the panel usually needs an extra column or a taller size to keep names legible.
How is the list formatted?
Alphabetical by last name is the standard format for an arrival display. A guest knows their own name, not their table, so alphabetical order lets them scan straight to it and read the table number alongside it.
Organized by table groups every guest at Table 1, then Table 2, and so on. It is useful for checking the list is complete while the final design is being proofed, since each table can be verified as a unit. For the panel itself, a guest arriving at the reception cannot use this format without already knowing their table.
At 85 names in two columns, each column holds roughly 43 names. At 117 names, three columns bring each column to about 39 - a length most guests can scan in well under thirty seconds. Easy Weddings gives eight guests per standard round table as a general rule4, which puts 85 guests across 11 tables and 117 guests across 15.
Columns needed on an acrylic panel at two guest-count benchmarks.
How do you build the seating data before the acrylic is made?
The panel is the last step, not the first. Before a printer can run the job, the seating assignment needs to be finalized: which confirmed guest sits at which specific table.
That assignment is built in a seat planner, not a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet holds a list of names and tables; it cannot show whether two guests who need distance end up at adjacent tables, or whether the accessible aisle lands in the right spot in the room. A seat planner lets you lay out the room, assign guests to each table, and check the spatial result before the list goes anywhere near a printer.
Once the assignment is set, the seat planner exports the guest list with table numbers. That export is what goes to whoever is printing the panel - a signage company, a stationer, or a laser-cutting studio.
The PlannedBy seat planner handles the room layout, the guest-to-table assignment, and the export. You share the exported list and the printer typesets it to the panel.
The assignment built in the seat planner becomes the file the printer runs.
Build the seating assignment in the seat planner The seat planner creates the guest-table list the panel needs. See how it works for everything else in PlannedBy.
When do you order it?
Earlier than a hand-lettered display. A mirror done in chalk or a vinyl decal applied by a stylist can be finished in the days before the wedding, and a line can still be fixed by hand if a name changes late. A printed acrylic panel cannot - once the file is sent to production, the text is set, and any late correction means reprinting the whole panel rather than touching up one line.
That pushes the order earlier in the timeline: send the final list three to four weeks out rather than the two to three weeks that works for a hand-lettered version. The extra week covers proofing the design, the print run itself, and a buffer against the guest list still moving after the order is placed.
Printed acrylic needs an earlier order than a hand-lettered display.
Frequently asked questions
What is an acrylic seating chart? A clear panel, printed or vinyl-lettered, displaying each guest's name next to their table number. Set on a stand near the reception entrance, it is a lookup for guests arriving at the venue. The data comes from the seating assignment built in a seat planner.
How is it different from a mirror seating chart? They carry the same information. A mirror seating chart is typically chalk or an applied decal on a hired mirror and can be touched up by hand close to the date. An acrylic panel is printed, which is more durable and more even in finish but needs the final list earlier, since nothing can be corrected after the print run.
What size panel do I need? Large enough to display the guest count at a legible size from two to three metres away. For 85-90 names in two columns, a panel roughly 60cm by 90cm is a common size; a longer list needs a taller panel or a second panel.
Can mistakes be fixed after the panel is printed? Not on the panel itself. A late name change or a guest who cancels after the print run needs a printed paper insert or a replacement panel - print houses vary on turnaround for a reprint, so confirm it before ordering. Keep the full list as a paper backup at the welcome desk regardless.
Who sets the panel up at the venue? Usually the stylist or hire company supplying the stand, or the venue coordinator if the couple is placing it directly. Confirm delivery time and position in the run sheet template so it is in place before guests arrive.
When should the guest list be submitted to the printer? Three to four weeks before the wedding, after RSVPs have closed and the seating assignment in the seat planner is locked. That leaves time for design proofing, the print run, and a short buffer before the venue needs the finished panel.
What changes before the panel gets printed
Australian couples plan for 108 guests and end up with 85, inviting 23 fewer than they originally intended.2 Whatever list gets sent to the printer has to be the list after that drop, not before it - an acrylic panel ordered off the planning-stage guest count is the panel most likely to need a reprint.
The guest list keeps moving after planning starts and before the printer needs the final count.
| Who uses the data | What they need | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Guests on arrival | Which table they are at | Alphabetical by name |
| Printer / sign maker | The final, locked list | By name, with table numbers |
| Venue coordinator | Room setup by table position | By table |
| Catering team | Dietary requirements, table positions | Full list with notes |
Once the seating is locked, the next document is the run sheet template - the minute-by-minute schedule that tells every vendor when to be where on the day. The wedding planning checklist covers the full planning arc with the seating milestone in the final six-week phase.