How many tables do you need?
Enter your guest count and the table size your venue rents. This works out how many tables to order, how many seats you will have spare, and roughly how much floor space the dining area needs.
How many guests fit at each table
These are the figures rental companies and caterers work to. The comfortable number is the one to plan with; the maximum fits, but elbows touch and servers struggle to reach between chairs.
| Table | Comfortable | Maximum | Floor space each |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48" round (4 ft) | 6 | 7 | ~100 sq ft |
| 60" round (5 ft) | 8 | 10 | ~120 sq ft |
| 72" round (6 ft) | 10 | 12 | ~145 sq ft |
| 84" round (7 ft) | 12 | 14 | ~170 sq ft |
| 6 ft banquet rectangle | 6 | 8 | ~100 sq ft |
| 8 ft banquet rectangle | 8 | 10 | ~120 sq ft |
Floor space includes the chairs and room to walk behind them. It does not include the dance floor, bar, buffet or band — add those separately when you check the room will hold everything.
A rectangle seats fewer people than you would think
An 8 ft banquet table looks like it should beat a 60" round, but seats four a side — eight in total, or ten if you put a place at each end. The round seats the same eight and lets everyone see each other, which is why most venues default to them.
Order one spare table
Guest counts move right up to the week of the wedding. One extra table in the corner of the floor plan costs very little and saves redrawing the whole room when four more acceptances arrive.
Questions
How many guests fit at a 60-inch round table?
Eight sit comfortably at a 60-inch round, and ten will fit at a squeeze. Most caterers plan eight so there is room for chargers, glassware and a centrepiece without guests knocking elbows.
How many tables do I need for 100 guests?
Thirteen 60-inch rounds at eight per table, or ten 72-inch rounds at ten per table. Order one more than the arithmetic gives you — final numbers almost always move.
How much floor space does a wedding reception need?
Allow roughly 15 square feet per guest for round tables with room to walk behind the chairs. A 120-guest seated dinner needs about 1,800 square feet of dining floor before you add a dance floor, bar, buffet or band.
Should I use round or rectangular tables?
Rounds let every guest see everyone else at their table and suit conversation. Long rectangles seat more people in a narrow room and photograph well, but guests can only really talk to the four or five people nearest them. Many couples mix the two.
Does the head table count in the guest total?
Yes — the couple and anyone seated with them still need chairs. Enter those seats in the head table field above and the calculator removes them from the guests it has to place at ordinary tables.
Now seat them
Knowing the table count is the easy half. Wedding Charts lays the tables out to match your room, imports your guest list, and seats everyone around the keep-apart rules you already have in your head.
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