Seating Planner

Organising where everyone sits is one of the trickiest parts of event planning. DreamPlan’s seating planner gives you a visual canvas with drag-and-drop guest assignment, dietary overlays, capacity warnings, and multiple export options to make it as painless as possible.

Overview

The seating planner lets you create tables, assign guests by dragging them from an unassigned pool, and visualise dietary needs with colour-coded overlays. It works on both desktop (full drag-and-drop) and mobile (dropdown-based assignment). You can switch between a canvas view and a list view, export the plan as a CSV, and print a formatted version with guest names and dietary information for your venue or caterer.

Creating Tables

1. Open your event and navigate to the Seating tab.
2. Click the + Add Table button.
3. Fill in the table details:
   • Table Name (required) — for example, “Top Table”, “Table 1”, “Kids’ Table”.
   • Shape — choose Round or Rectangular.
   • Capacity — the maximum number of guests the table can seat.
4. Click Save.

The table appears on the seating canvas, ready for guest assignment.

Tip: Name your tables clearly — your venue staff and caterers will use these names on the day.

Assigning Guests with Drag-and-Drop

DreamPlan uses a drag-and-drop system (powered by dnd-kit) for guest assignment.

Unassigned Guest Pool

The sidebar on the right shows all guests who have not yet been assigned to a table. Guests are listed by name and show any dietary requirement icons.

How to Assign a Guest

1. Find the guest in the Unassigned Guests sidebar.
2. Click and drag the guest onto a table on the canvas.
3. Release — the guest is now assigned to that table.

To move a guest between tables, drag them from one table to another.

To remove a guest from a table, drag them back to the unassigned pool.

Mobile Fallback

On mobile devices where drag-and-drop is impractical, DreamPlan switches to a dropdown-based assignment:

1. Tap on a table to open it.
2. Tap Add Guest.
3. Select a guest from the dropdown list of unassigned guests.
4. Tap Save.

Capacity Warnings

Each table has a capacity limit. As you assign guests, the table displays a colour-coded indicator:

If you try to add a guest to a full table, a warning appears. You can still force the assignment, but the table remains highlighted in red.

Tip: Keep a few spare seats at each table to accommodate last-minute changes or plus-ones.

Dietary Overlay

The dietary overlay adds colour-coded indicators to each guest based on their dietary requirements. This helps you ensure that guests with specific needs are seated at tables where catering can accommodate them.

How to Enable the Overlay

1. Click the Dietary Overlay toggle in the toolbar.
2. Each guest on the canvas now displays a coloured dot or badge corresponding to their dietary needs.

Colour Key

Guests with multiple dietary requirements show multiple dots. A legend is displayed at the bottom of the canvas for reference.

Canvas View

The canvas view is the default. It shows a spatial layout of your tables with guests displayed on or around each table. This view is ideal for:

• Visualising the room layout.
• Drag-and-drop assignment.
• Checking the dietary overlay.

The seating planner canvas view with tables, assigned guests, and dietary overlays.

List View

The list view presents the same data in a table format:

Switch to list view using the List toggle in the toolbar. This view is useful for reviewing assignments quickly without the spatial layout.

CSV Export

Export your seating plan as a CSV file:

1. Click the Export button in the toolbar.
2. Select CSV.
3. The file downloads with columns for table name, guest name, dietary requirements, and meal choice.

Share this file with your venue, caterer, or coordinator.

Print View

Generate a print-friendly version of your seating plan:

1. Click the Print button in the toolbar.
2. A formatted view opens showing:
   • Each table with its name, shape, and capacity.
   • The full guest list for each table.
   • Dietary requirements for each guest.
   • Meal choices (if assigned).
3. Use your browser’s print function (Ctrl/Cmd + P) to print or save as PDF.

Tip: Print a copy for the venue coordinator, the caterer, and a backup for yourself on the day.

Vendor Access to Seating Data

Vendors linked to your event can view the seating plan in a read-only format. This is useful for:

• Caterers — seeing which tables have dietary requirements so they can plate accordingly.
• Venue staff — understanding the table layout and guest distribution.
• Coordinators — checking assignments on the day.

Vendors cannot edit the seating plan. Only planners and collaborators have edit access.

Tips

• Create all your tables first before assigning guests — this gives you the full picture of available capacity.
• Use the dietary overlay when assigning guests with allergies — ensure their table’s catering can accommodate them.
• Name tables descriptively — “Top Table” and “Kids’ Table” are more useful than “Table A” and “Table B” on the day.
• Export the plan the day before the event — share it with all vendors who need it.
• Keep a few seats spare — last-minute changes are almost guaranteed.
• Use list view for a final review — it is easier to spot gaps or errors in a tabular format.

FAQ

Can I undo a guest assignment? Yes. Drag the guest back to the unassigned pool, or in list view, click the remove button next to the guest’s name.

Can I have tables with no assigned guests? Yes. Empty tables remain on the canvas and in the list view. This is useful for placeholder tables you have not filled yet.

Does the seating planner work on tablets? Yes. On tablets, the drag-and-drop interface works as on desktop. On smaller screens (phones), the dropdown fallback is used.

Can I change a table’s capacity after assigning guests? Yes. Edit the table and change the capacity. If the new capacity is lower than the current number of assigned guests, you will see a red capacity warning until you reassign some guests.

Can guests see the seating plan? Guests do not have direct access to the seating plan through the portal. You can share the printed version or export it to include with event communications.

Is there a limit to the number of tables? There is no hard limit. Add as many tables as your event requires.