What the template includes
The CSV has five columns. Three are required; two are optional but useful.
- fullName (required) — the guest's full name as it will appear on the seating display
- side (required) — whose side the guest is on: gelin (bride), damat (groom), or ortak (mutual or both)
- rsvpStatus (required) — confirmed, pending, or declined
- group (optional) — a family or friend group name; guests with the same group are shown together in the planner
- notes (optional) — dietary requirements, accessibility needs, or anything your venue needs to know
How to fill it in
Open the CSV in any spreadsheet application. Delete the example rows and replace them with your own guests. Keep the header row exactly as is — the column names must match for the import to work.
A few things that help downstream:
- Use the group column to keep families and friend circles together. When you import into Seatedly, guests with the same group name are filtered and sorted together, making table assignment faster.
- Fill in notes now, not later. Dietary restrictions are easy to forget once you are in the middle of assigning seats. Get them into the CSV while you are collecting RSVPs.
- Set rsvpStatus to "pending" for anyone who has not confirmed yet. You can update them to "confirmed" or "declined" before you import, or re-import with updated status and choose to overwrite.
- Declined guests are worth keeping in the file. Seatedly will show them in the guest list but exclude them from table assignment, which gives you an accurate headcount without losing the record.
Importing into Seatedly
Once your CSV is filled in, open Seatedly, create or open your event, and use the import button in the guest list panel. Select your file, review the preview, and confirm. Guests are added to your list immediately and are ready to drag onto tables.
If you have already added some guests manually, you can choose whether to skip duplicates or overwrite them with the CSV data. Seatedly matches on full name.
Using the template without Seatedly
The template works fine as a standalone guest list in Google Sheets or Excel. You lose the visual floor plan and drag-and-drop assignment, but the columns (group, side, notes) are useful for sorting and filtering even in a spreadsheet.
A common workflow: start in the spreadsheet while RSVPs are still coming in, then import into Seatedly once the list is confirmed and you are ready to assign tables. You get the flexibility of a spreadsheet during the messy RSVP phase and the speed of a visual planner for the actual seating work.
Common questions
Can I add extra columns?
Yes. Seatedly ignores any column it does not recognize, so you can add columns like email, phone, or dietary detail for your own reference. They will not cause an import error.
What if I have guests with the same name?
Add a distinguishing detail to the name: 'James Wilson (bride's side)' and 'James Wilson (groom's side)'. The name is what appears on the seating display, so make it readable.
How do I handle plus-ones I do not have names for yet?
Use a placeholder: '+1 (Sarah Lee)' or 'Guest of Mark Johnson'. You can update the name later. The group column is useful here — put the plus-one in the same group as the person who brought them.
Ready to assign tables?
Import your CSV into Seatedly and see your full guest list on a drag-and-drop venue map. Free for one event.
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