Guides to planning the tables
Short, practical answers to the questions that come up when you start seating guests.
Table calculator
How many tables do you need for your guests? Work it out in seconds.
Templates
Blank lists and plans to start with right away, and the shortest way to bring them into Seatalia.
Wedding seating plan template
Download the guest list as a CSV, print the blank plan and move everything into Seatalia when you want the tables to fill themselves in.
Christening seating plan template
Guest list as a CSV and blank plan for a christening, with the godparents’ table and the children’s table. Free, no account needed.
First communion seating plan template
Guest list as a CSV and blank plan for a first communion, with the communicant’s table and the children’s table.
By type of event
Christening, first communion, confirmation, quinceañera, golden anniversaries and company or association dinners: the right tables for each occasion.
Seating plan for a christening
How to organise the tables at a christening: the godparents’ table, the children’s table and the families, with no confusion on the day.
Seating plan for a first communion
How to seat guests at a first communion: the communicant’s table, the children’s table and the families, with an example.
Seating plan for a confirmation
How to organise the tables for a confirmation lunch or dinner: the confirmand, family, sponsor and friends.
Seating plan for a quinceañera (XV años)
How to organise the tables at a quinceañera: the table of honour, padrinos, damas and chambelanes, relatives and friends.
Seating plan for golden or silver anniversaries
How to seat guests at a golden or silver anniversary: the couple’s and children’s table, grandchildren, siblings and lifelong friends.
Seating plan for a corporate dinner
How to seat guests at a corporate dinner or gala: management, clients, partners and teams, with rules for who should or shouldn’t sit together.
Seating plan for an association dinner
How to organise the tables for an association’s annual dinner: committee, members and guests, with rectangular or imperial tables.
Etiquette and tricky cases
Divorced parents, the children’s table, godparents and the head table: how to seat people who can’t be comfortable just anywhere.
Where to seat divorced parents at a wedding
How to seat divorced parents at a wedding without awkwardness: separate or shared tables, new partners and the “apart” rule in Seatalia.
Children’s table: yes or no?
When a children’s table makes sense, how to organise it, who keeps an eye on it and how Seatalia seats the children at that table automatically.
The godparents’ table at a christening
Who sits at the godparents’ table at a christening, where to put it in the room and how to pin the seats in the seating plan.
The head table at a wedding
How to set up a wedding head table: who sits there, in what layout and where to put it in the room.
Comparisons
Alternatives to what you already use, explained without exaggeration and without making up what others do.
Alternative to the casamentos.pt table organiser
Looking for an alternative to the casamentos.pt table organiser? The questions to ask any tool and what Seatalia answers to each one.
Excel or Seatalia for your seating plan
When Excel is enough and when it’s worth using Seatalia for your seating plan: an honest comparison, with the strengths of each.
Table names
Name ideas by theme, ready to use in your plan.
City names for wedding tables
City names to give your wedding or party tables, in the event language. Pick yours and use them in the plan.
Wine names for tables
Portuguese wine regions and grape varieties to name the tables at a wedding or dinner. Ideas ready to use.
Flower names for tables
Flower names for wedding, christening or communion tables, in the event language. A ready-to-use list.
Fado singer and artist names for tables
Names of Portuguese fado singers and guitarists to give to wedding or dinner tables. A ready-to-use list.
Football star names for tables
Names of great Portuguese players to give to tables, ideal for birthday parties or weddings of football fans.
River names for tables
Portuguese rivers to name wedding or dinner tables. A ready-to-use list, from the Minho to the Guadiana.