RSVP changes after the seating chart: what to do

You've finished the seating chart, and then a reply changes: a guest who said yes can't come, a household of two becomes three, a late reply finally arrives. It happens at almost every wedding. Fix the table first, then tell the caterer, then reprint only what changed. Here's how to handle each kind of change without starting the chart again.

Why RSVPs change after the chart is done

Most charts are finished three to four weeks before the wedding, once the replies are mostly in (our seating chart guide covers the timing). Between then and the day, expect a few changes for every hundred guests:

• A decline after a yes: illness, travel, a babysitter who fell through.
• A different number: a plus-one added or dropped, one child instead of two.
• A late yes: a household that never replied turns up on the list.
• A new dietary need, or one you didn't know about.

Leave one or two open seats when you build the chart, and each of these becomes a small fix rather than a rebuild.

What to do for each change

| The change | What to do with the chart | | --- | --- | | A seated household now declines | Unseat them. Leave the gap, or move a guest from a crowded table into it. | | A household's number goes down | Leave them where they are. The table now has an open seat. | | A household's number goes up | Check the table's capacity. If it's now over, move the whole household to the smallest table they fit at, not one person. | | A late yes | Seat them at an open seat near people they know, or at the table with the most room. | | A changed reply ("maybe") | Keep their seats until you know, and decide by the caterer's deadline. |

Move households, not single people: splitting a couple or a family to fill one chair always looks like what it is. And when you move someone, check their old and new tables both still make sense: a table of eight with two strangers left at it may need a second move.

Who else needs to know

The seating chart isn't the only list a reply changes. After each change, go down this list:

1. The caterer: a new total and any dietary change. After the final count date, they may add a plate but rarely take one off. Our guide to the final headcount for the caterer explains what to send.
2. The venue, if a table is added or removed, or a table's size changes.
3. The escort cards and place cards: reprint only the cards that changed.
4. The seating display or board, if you've printed one.
5. Your coordinator, with the latest chart printed for the day.

Write each change down as you make it, with the date. When it's time to send the caterer an update, you'll have the list.

When to stop changing the chart

Set a freeze date two or three days before the wedding and print the final chart then. After that, write any last change on the printed copy in pen and tell the coordinator, rather than reprinting at midnight. A guest who cancels on the day leaves an empty chair, and that's fine: nobody else will notice.

If a reply is still open at the caterer's deadline, call the household. If you can't reach them, count them as not coming. Our RSVP deadline guide has wording for that call.

RSVP sync in Linenfold

In Linenfold, the guest list and the seating plan are one list. On every plan, free included, a reply on your RSVP page or an edit to the guest list updates the seat counts at once, so a table that's now over capacity shows it.

With Complete, the seating plan also keeps track of what changed since you last printed:

• Flags on the plan: each seated guest whose reply or number changed since the last print is marked at their table.
• A change feed, "Changes since you last printed", with what each change means for the table: who's now over capacity, who declined, who replied "maybe".
• A fix when one is clear: move a household to the tightest table that fits them, or unseat a decline, each with Undo. Or mark a change as handled without printing.
• Printing clears the list, so the next list starts from the chart you hand out. The dashboard counts what's still to look at.

The caterer report (also Complete) counts the same changes since you last sent it, so the caterer's update and the chart's reprint come from one list.

On the free plan, the changes are still recorded, and Complete shows them from your last print. Pricing has the rest.

Start with the free seating chart maker, and when you're ready to keep the chart and the replies together, create a free account.