Bring your guest list into Lovely Seating
Paste guests straight from Excel or Google Sheets, or upload a CSV. Lovely Seating turns your rows into reviewable guest records — so you can fix the odd one out and confirm exactly what enters your seating plan.
It’s not a blind upload: you see the mapped columns, recognised plus-ones and possible duplicates first — nothing is added until you say so.
Free to start·No credit card required·Nothing is added until you confirm
More than a file upload
The importer reads your spreadsheet the way a person would — then hands you a preview to check before anything is committed.
Maps your columns automatically
Spreadsheets never share the same headings. Lovely Seating matches columns like Guest, Party, RSVP and Dinner to the right guest fields — and you can change any mapping it gets wrong.
Recognises couples & plus-ones
“Name + Guest” or “+1” becomes a separate record linked to its host, sharing their RSVP and group.
Standardises RSVP wording
“Yes”, “No”, “Tentative”, “Pending” — different words for the same status are normalised; anything unclear is flagged for you.
Flags likely duplicates
Matches by similar name or shared email — both inside your file and against guests already in the plan.
Confirm before anything is added
See exactly how many guests will be added, skipped or excluded — then commit only the rows you approved.
Import your guest list in four steps
Step 1
Paste or upload
Copy rows from Excel or Google Sheets and paste them, or upload a CSV file. Plain, bulleted and numbered lists all work.Step 2
Check the mapping
Lovely Seating proposes which column is the name, RSVP, group, meal and more. Adjust anything it read differently to you.Step 3
Review & resolve
Scan the preview for recognised plus-ones, possible duplicates and guests already in your list. Include or exclude each row.Step 4
Confirm import
Approve the final set and only those records are added — organised and ready for tables and seating.
Start with the list you already have
Most couples and planners begin in a spreadsheet. Keep that work — don’t type every name again.
- Paste a plain-text guest list
- Copy rows from Microsoft Excel
- Copy rows from Google Sheets
- Upload a CSV file
The importer handles the usual spreadsheet quirks — commas, tabs and quoted values — and tidies up simple pasted lists that carry bullets or numbering.
Review problems before anything is added
The review step is where you decide what actually enters your wedding plan. Rows are sorted into clear states — ready, already in your list, or a possible duplicate.
A flagged match is never treated as a duplicate for you. Lovely Seating shows both records side by side — a shared name or email is a suggestion, not a decision — and you choose whether to keep both or skip one.
Nothing is merged or removed automatically. The cleanup stays visible and in your hands.
Example: importing Olivia & James’s spreadsheet
Fictional sample data, used to demonstrate the product.
Olivia and James keep their 126 guests in a Google Sheet. It isn’t perfectly tidy — some cells say “Yes” and others “Attending”, a few couples share one row, and one guest was already added by hand.
They paste the sheet in. Lovely Seating proposes the column mapping, splits the couples and plus-ones into linked records, and standardises the RSVP wording. During review they fix one mis-read column, exclude an old supplier contact, and confirm the guest who already existed.
They approve — and land an organised guest list ready for tables and seating, without rebuilding all 126 records by hand.
Retype every guest — or review an organised import
Your spreadsheet already holds the work. The only question is how it gets into a seating plan.
Slow and error-prone
- Add each guest one at a time
- Re-enter RSVP and meal details field by field
- Recreate every plus-one relationship
- Risk skipping a row or entering a name twice
- Cross-check the result against the original file
Reviewed and structured
- Paste or upload the data you already have
- Confirm the proposed column mapping
- See couples and plus-ones interpreted for you
- Resolve likely duplicates before they land
- Confirm the final set — nothing added blindly
The importer doesn’t remove the need to review — it makes that review visible and structured, before the data ever enters your plan.
Made for couples and wedding planners
For engaged couples
Already started a guest list in Sheets or Excel? Bring it over in minutes and keep planning — no fresh start, no re-typing every name.
For wedding planners
Onboard a new client’s list fast. Import their spreadsheet, review it once, and move straight into building their seating plan.
What to know before importing
It’s a one-time import, not a live sync
You can paste or upload your spreadsheet, but later edits to that file won’t flow back in. After importing, Lovely Seating becomes the working plan — make changes here.
Paste from Excel, upload a CSV
You can copy rows straight from Excel or Google Sheets, and upload CSV files. A native .xlsx file upload isn’t supported — export to CSV, or simply copy the rows and paste them.
Possible duplicates still need your call
Duplicate detection surfaces likely matches by name or email. It won’t assume two similar records are the same person — you review each one and decide.
Seating comes after the import
Importing sets up organised guest records — names, RSVPs, meals, groups, households and linked plus-ones. Assigning tables and exact seats is the next step, inside Lovely Seating.
Continue into the complete seating workflow
Guest list import questions
Can I upload an Excel file?
You can copy rows straight from Excel or Google Sheets and paste them in, and you can upload CSV files. A native .xlsx upload isn’t supported — export your sheet to CSV, or just copy the rows and paste them.
Do my spreadsheet columns need specific names?
No. Lovely Seating auto-detects common headings — Name, Email, Phone, Group, Party, RSVP, Meal and Dietary — and proposes a mapping. You can adjust any column before continuing.
What happens if a guest already exists?
The importer flags them as already in your list and leaves them out by default. You review the match and decide — keep the records separate or exclude the imported row.
Can I exclude individual rows?
Yes. Every row has a checkbox in the review step, so you include or exclude guests one at a time before confirming the import.
Does Lovely Seating automatically delete duplicates?
No. Possible duplicates are flagged for review, never removed on their own. You decide what happens to each one — nothing is deleted just because a name or email looks similar.
Are plus-ones handled automatically?
Yes. “Name + Guest” or “+1” becomes a separate guest record linked to its host, sharing the host’s RSVP, group and household so they’re seated together.
Will future edits to my spreadsheet stay in sync?
No. Import is a one-time transfer, not a live connection. Changes you make to the original spreadsheet afterwards won’t update your Lovely Seating plan.
Is anything added before I confirm?
No. The importer only ever proposes rows for review. Nothing enters your guest list until you press confirm — so you can always back out.
Building your guest list first? Read the full guide — How to Make a Wedding Guest List.
Bring your guest list into one seating plan
Paste the list you already have, review how it’s organised, and start planning — without retyping a single guest.
Free to start · No credit card required · Nothing is added until you confirm