Help · Guests and seating
Set up your top table
Add a table and tick Top Table, then mark the guests who should sit there in their seating preferences, or tell AI Seat in your own words. AI Seat puts the two of you in the middle seats and seats the guests you marked around you, family nearest.
Works on: Anyone can add a top table and seat it by hand. Marking guests for the top table and having AI Seat arrange it need Premium or Unlimited. · Updated 26 October 2026
How to do it
- 1
Add the top table
Go to Guests, then Table plan, and select Add table. Name it, set the number of seats, and tick Top Table. A one-sided rectangular table is the usual choice: Rectangular shape with the One Side arrangement. To turn an existing table into the top table, select it and tick Top Table in Table details, or choose Edit from its menu in list view.
- 2
Mark who sits there
On the Guest list, open a guest's menu, choose Seating preferences and tick Top table. Select Save. Do this for each person you want beside you. You don't need to mark their plus-one: they come with them.
- 3
Run AI Seat
On the table plan, select AI Seat. It seats the two of you and the guests you marked first, then everyone else at the other tables.
- 4
Check the report
The report names the top table and who is beside you. If anyone you marked didn't fit, it says so under Worth a look.
Who goes on the top table
The top table is yours to choose. AI Seat puts only the two of you and the guests you've marked Top table there. Nobody else is added to it.
If you've already seated people on the top table yourself, AI Seat leaves them where they are. This is true even when you choose Start again: the top table stays as it is.
If nobody is marked, only the two of you go on the top table.
Marking guests in your own words
Instead of ticking guests one by one, you can type it, for example: Gran and Grandad go on the top table. Use Tell AI Seat in your own words, Anything else AI Seat should know? or Tell it something else in AI Seat, and select Read it.
AI reads what you wrote against your guest list and lists a rule for each person, such as Joan Lee at the top table. Untick any that are wrong, then select the Save button. Each saved rule ticks Top table in that guest's seating preferences.
If a name could be more than one guest, it isn't guessed. It's listed under Not sure who you meant, so you can use their full name or tick them yourself.
How the seats are arranged
AI Seat numbers the top table seats from the middle out. This part follows set rules, not AI.
The two of you take the pair of free seats nearest the middle, side by side. The partner named first on your wedding takes the lower-numbered of the two.
Family are seated nearest to you, then everyone else.
Guests on the bride's side (Bride's family or Bride's friend) are seated on the lower-numbered side of you, and guests on the groom's side (Groom's family or Groom's friend) on the higher-numbered side. A plus-one counts as being on the same side as the guest who brought them.
Guests with no side set are placed on alternate sides.
Any seat you chose for someone yourself is left alone, and AI Seat works around it.
Plus-ones
A guest and their plus-one are seated next to each other. If there isn't room for both on their own side, they both move to the other side, if there's room there.
If the top table doesn't have room for a marked guest's whole party, the marked guest goes on the top table and the rest of their party is seated at another table.
When there isn't room
If there aren't enough seats on the top table for everyone you've marked, AI Seat seats the ones who don't fit elsewhere. The report says "No room at" your top table for them, and suggests adding seats to it.
To fix it, select the top table, raise its seat count, then run AI Seat again with Keep them, seat the rest.
If you've marked guests for the top table but don't have one, AI Seat seats them at other tables and the report asks you to add a top table and run it again.
Letting AI Seat suggest a top table
If you have no tables yet, select Suggest tables and seat everyone. AI Seat suggests a top table with seats for the two of you plus the guests you've marked and their plus-ones, and round tables for everyone else.
The suggested top table is called Top table, is rectangular with seats on one side, and is placed at the top of the room. You can rename, resize or move it afterwards.
Not having a top table
When AI Seat suggests tables, choose No, we'll sit with guests under Top table. AI Seat then adds no top table and counts the two of you in the seats at the round tables.
The two of you are always seated together, with or without a top table.
Questions
Will Start again clear my top table?
No. Start again re-seats every table except the top table, which stays as you set it.
Do I need to mark plus-ones for the top table?
No. Mark the guest, and their plus-one comes with them if there's room. If there isn't, the marked guest goes on the top table and their plus-one is seated elsewhere.
Can I mark top table guests in my spreadsheet?
Yes. Add a Top table column to your guest list spreadsheet, put Yes for anyone sitting with you, and import it.
Why are we on the top table with nobody else?
No guests are marked Top table in their seating preferences. Mark them, or tell AI Seat who in your own words, then run AI Seat again.
Can I seat the top table by hand?
Yes. Drag guests onto it like any other table. AI Seat won't move anyone you've put there.
Related help
- Make your table planGo to Guests, then Table plan. Add your tables, then drag guests onto seats. On Premium or Unlimited, AI Seat can suggest tables and seat everyone from the groups and rules you've set, or from what you tell it in your own words. You check the result and can undo it.
- Add or import your guest listGo to Guests, then Guest list. Choose Add guest to add people one at a time, or Import to upload an .xlsx or .csv file or paste a list of names. You check every row before anything is added. Importing works on every plan, and there is no limit on guests on any plan.
- Plans, trials and billingPlanHitch has a free plan with no time limit, plus Premium (£15 a month or £149 once) and Unlimited (£25 a month or £249 once) for couples. Your first paid plan starts with a 7-day free trial with no card needed. You can switch between Premium and Unlimited on the Plans page, and a couple's paid plan stops by itself 3 months after the wedding.
Something not covered here? Email contact@planhitch.com.
Try it on your own wedding
The free plan has no time limit and needs no card.