Set up ceremony rows and an aisle

Most ceremonies only need reserved rows for family. Some couples want every chair planned. Lovely Seating handles both with Ceremony sections: blocks of chairs in rows that work just like tables. You can seat guests in a section, or pick their exact chair.

Keep the ceremony in its own seating plan

The ceremony and the reception are usually different rooms, or the same room set up twice. Give the ceremony its own seating plan. It shares your guest list, so you don’t enter anyone twice. See weddings vs seating plans.

Start from the ceremony layout

1. 1

   Create a new seating plan

   Open the plan switcher next to your wedding’s name at the top of the screen and click New plan.
2. 2

   Choose the ceremony starter

   In New seating plan, type a Plan name such as “Ceremony”. Under Start with, choose Ceremony (aisle seating), then click Create plan.
3. 3

   Adjust it to your venue

   You get a Ceremony Arch, an Entrance, and six sections of 18 chairs, three on each side of a centre aisle. They’re named “Partner 1’s Family”, “Partner 2’s Family”, “Family & Relatives” and “Friends & Guests”. Rename and resize them as you like.

Build it yourself

1. 1

   Add Ceremony sections

   On the Floor plan screen, click Add several… at the bottom of the rail on the right. Choose the shape Ceremony section, the number of sections, and the chairs per section.
2. 2

   Make an aisle

   Drag the sections into two columns with a gap between them. That gap is your aisle. There’s no separate aisle object.
3. 3

   Add the front

   From the same rail, add a Ceremony Arch or Stage at the front, and a Text label if you want words like “Aisle”.

Rows and chairs per row

Chairs in a section are laid out in rows that face the front, filling the section from the top. A wider section fits more chairs per row. Select it and drag its handles (with the layout unlocked) to change the shape of the block, and change Capacity in Table settings to change the number of chairs.

Seat guests in the ceremony

• Reserved rows only: tap a section and use Add guest in its toolbar to put family there. Everyone else can sit anywhere.
• Every chair planned: drag names onto exact chairs. See choose exact seats.
• Keep a section empty: tick Reserved — keep empty and Auto-Seat won’t fill it.

For etiquette, like who sits in the front rows and which side is whose, see our ceremony seating template.