How to Make a Long Table Wedding Seating Plan
A step-by-step guide to a long table wedding seating plan: measuring the run, working out the guest math, and assigning seats end to end.
A long table wedding seating plan starts with measuring the actual table run, not the guest count: get the exact length from the venue, work out roughly four guests per running metre, then assign names once the numbers hold.
Step 1: Measure the table run before you count guests
A long table is one continuous run, so guest capacity is set by length, not by a table count. Round tables split naturally into deciding eight or ten seats a table; a long table only answers that question once you know how many metres of table the venue is actually setting.
Two lengths are on record for hired trestle tables: a 2.4-metre trestle seats 8 to 10 guests, four each side and one at each end, and a 1.8-metre trestle seats 6 to 8, three each side and one at each end.1 Run those two figures against their lengths and the rate comes out close to four guests for every running metre of table as a first pass, though the venue's own chair spacing is what actually decides the final count.
Before moving to Step 2, get from the venue:
- The exact length of each table run, in metres
- Whether tables join end to end into one continuous run or sit as separate lengths
- Chair width and spacing, since suppliers seat tighter or looser than the trestle figures above
Step 2: Work out the guest count for the format you have chosen
Long and round tables reach the same guest count through different arithmetic, and mixing the two up is the fastest way to under-order or over-order tables. A 1.8-metre round banquet table seats 8 to 10.2 Easy Weddings sets the round-table default lower, at eight guests as a general rule of thumb, and notes that tables actually in use range from as few as 2 seats to as many as 20.3
For 80 guests, that works out to roughly 20 running metres of long table at four per metre, against 8 to 10 separate round tables at 8 to 10 seats each. Neither figure is wrong; they are two ways of seating the same room, and the venue's floor plan usually decides which one fits.
Step 3: Decide where the head of the table sits
A long table removes the usual good-seat, bad-seat argument that comes with round tables, because every seat along a straight run shares the same sightline to the room. What it does not remove is the question of where the couple sits.
Two common answers: seat the couple at one end of the same run as everyone else, or set a separate top table perpendicular to the main run so the couple and wedding party face down its length. Either works with the guest math from Step 2 - the choice changes where Step 4's priority order starts, not how many guests fit.
Step 4: Assign guests along the run in priority order
Work through a long table in a fixed order, starting from the head end and moving out, rather than filling seats at random as names come to mind.
- The couple, and the top table or head-end seats. Decide this first; everything else is measured from it.
- Immediate family, seated closest to the head end on both sides.
- Guests with access or mobility needs, placed at the ends of the run or nearest the exit, never in the middle of a long continuous table where getting up disturbs the whole row.
- Friend and work groups, seated as unbroken blocks along the run so nobody is split from the people they know.
- Remaining guests, placed wherever they share at least one confirmed connection with a neighbour.
In PlannedBy's seat planner, each guest is a card that moves along the table without a spreadsheet row to keep in sync, and dietary flags stay attached to the guest wherever they end up on the run.
Step 5: Put any gaps where they help, not where they are easiest
A long table has no natural break points the way a room of round tables does, so any gap left in the run has to be placed on purpose. A gap dropped in the middle of the table to make the numbers work leaves two disconnected halves and blocks the shortest path for staff clearing plates.
Keep gaps, if the guest count does not fill every seat exactly, at the ends of the run or at a corner where the table turns, never mid-row. That keeps one continuous line of guests everyone can see and talk across, and keeps a clear aisle for service at the point it is actually needed.
Step 6: Deliver the final numbers to the venue and caterer
Two to three weeks out is the standard point to lock the plan and send it on, the same window as any other table plan. What changes for a long table is what the venue and caterer need to act on it.
| Recipient | What to include |
|---|---|
| Venue coordinator | Total run length in metres, number of separate runs, final seat count |
| Caterer | Seat count per run, dietary count per run, any severe allergens by guest name |
| MC or coordinator | Head-end location and where the couple and wedding party are seated |
| Entrance display | Guest name and seat position, sorted alphabetically by surname |
83% of Australian couples who book a venue run allocated seating rather than letting guests choose their own seat.5 A long table format does not change that figure; it changes the document the venue needs, from a table count to a run length.
Frequently asked questions
How many guests fit on a long table?
Roughly four guests per running metre, based on hired trestle tables: a 2.4-metre trestle seats 8 to 10 and a 1.8-metre trestle seats 6 to 8.1 Confirm the exact figure with your venue, since chair spacing varies between suppliers.
Is a long table cheaper than round tables for the same guest count?
Cost depends on the venue's own hire pricing, which sits outside what this guide can confirm - but the seating math is different either way: long tables are counted by the metre, round tables by the seat.
Do I still need a seating plan if everyone is on one long table?
Yes. A single run still needs the guest list mapped to positions along it - who sits where matters as much on a long table as across several round ones, and the caterer still needs a dietary count by section of the table.
Where should the couple sit on a long table?
Either at the head end of the main run, or at a separate top table set perpendicular to it, facing down the length of the table. Both are common; the choice changes where the priority order in Step 4 starts, not the guest math from Step 2.
Should I leave gaps along a long table?
Only at the ends of the run or at a corner where the table turns, never in the middle. A mid-row gap splits the table into two disconnected halves and blocks the aisle staff need to clear plates.
Is it a seating plan or a table plan?
Both describe the same document. "Table plan" is the term used in the UK, Ireland and Australia; "seating chart" is the US and Canadian equivalent.4 A long table wedding seating plan and a long table wedding table plan are the same document under two regional names.
Long table steps at a glance
| Step | Question it answers | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Measure the run | How long is the table, really? | Exact length in metres from the venue |
| Work out the guest count | How many guests fit this format? | Length-to-seat figures for your table type |
| Decide the head end | Where does the couple sit? | A choice between head-end and top-table |
| Assign guests | Who sits where along the run? | Guest list with relationships and access needs noted |
| Place any gaps | Where does the run break, if it must? | Confirmed final seat count |
| Deliver the plan | What does the venue actually need? | Run length, seat count and dietary count per run |
The seat planner handles guest-to-seat assignment for a long table the same way it does for round ones. If your venue is mixing formats, the wedding table plan guide covers the standard round-table version of this process, and the wedding seating plan template sets out the column structure either format needs. Once seating is locked, the run sheet is the next document your venue will ask for.
Is your venue actually one continuous run, or two shorter tables that only look like one from the entrance?