A planner's workflow in Lovely Seating

Every planner works differently, but most seating jobs follow the same arc: get the guest list in, set up the room, seat people, get sign-off, and deliver. Here’s how that maps onto Lovely Seating. To keep several client weddings on one account you’ll need Agency. See the Agency plan.

The routine, step by step

1. 1

   Create the client’s wedding

   On Your weddings, click New wedding. Put the couple’s names in the name fields so they print on the charts, add the date, and pick a starting layout. See manage many client weddings.
2. 2

   Bring in the guest list

   Couples usually send a spreadsheet. In Guests, click Import and upload the CSV or paste the rows. Columns are matched for you. Lists exported from The Knot, Zola or Joy import the same way. See import a spreadsheet.
3. 3

   Build the room

   On the Floor plan screen, add tables and venue objects like the dance floor, bar and stage from the rail on the right, and drag them into place. Match the venue’s floor plan by eye; the plan isn’t to scale. See floor plan basics.
4. 4

   Capture the politics

   Set households so families stay together, then add relationships such as Keep apart from and seating needs like Wheelchair space. Review everything at Guests⋯Seating rules. See keep guests together or apart.
5. 5

   Seat everyone

   Turn on Lock layout so the room stays put, place the head table and VIPs by hand, then click Auto-seat to fill the rest. It only seats guests marked Attending or Maybe and never moves anyone you’ve placed. Fine-tune by dragging. See how Auto-Seat works.
6. 6

   Check the plan’s health

   Overview lists anything that needs a second look, like pending RSVPs or guests at a table that doesn’t meet their needs. Fix those before sign-off.
7. 7

   Get the couple’s sign-off

   Click Share and invite the couple, usually as a Viewer. They can review the plan on their phone without changing it. See working with couples.
8. 8

   Deliver

   On Print & Export, produce the floor-plan chart, the alphabetical guest finder, table cards, place cards and the meal directory for the caterer. Untick the Lovely Seating credit if you want unbranded files. Publish the QR Code / Seat Finder page so guests can look up their table. See white-label exports.

Safety nets

Everything autosaves. Undo reverses recent changes, and version history lets you restore an earlier point, for example the snapshot taken before Auto-Seat ran. Before a big rework, add a second seating plan as a copy so you can compare. See version history.

Only doing one client’s seating?

If the couple already has Pro, ask them to invite you as an Editor. You’ll get the Pro features on their wedding without paying, and it won’t count toward your own limit. For more on what we offer planners, see our page for wedding planners.