A finished seating plan becomes four physical deliverables: a display sign, an alphabetical lookup list, escort or place card sheets, and a floor plan for the venue. One chart exports as a poster, an alphabetical list, cards and a floor plan, all from the same data source, so a single late edit updates every file at once. If the chart itself is not built yet, read about seating chart maker basics first; exporting is the final step, not the first.
The reception date is a hard deadline, and print shops sit between you and it. Most shops need 1 to 3 days for a poster and reject files below print resolution, so the export settings on this page, exact sizes, 300 DPI, correct formats per recipient, are what keep the last week calm.
How Do You Export a Wedding Seating Chart as a PDF?
You export a wedding seating chart as a PDF in five steps that take under 10 minutes once assignments are final. The work is in the checking, not the clicking; a file sent to the printer with one unassigned guest or one misspelled name reproduces that error at 24x36 inches.
- Finalize every assignment: confirm zero unassigned guests and zero duplicate names before touching the export button.
- Choose the layout: alphabetical by guest name or grouped by table number; alphabetical is faster for guests to scan at the door.
- Pick the paper size: 18x24 inches for up to roughly 100 names, 24x36 inches for 100 to 200.
- Export at 300 DPI: select the print-ready PDF option, never a screenshot or a screen-resolution save.
- Proof at 100 percent zoom: read every name at full size on screen, then send the file to the shop.
Run the proofing step twice if two people are available; a second reader catches the swapped table number the first reader's brain autocorrects. After the file is approved, keep the source chart untouched until the sign is printed, so the paper and the data stay identical.
Which Export Formats Do You Need?
You need four export formats, and each one has a different job and a different recipient. Sending one giant PDF to everyone fails because the coordinator, the printer, and the venue each use the data differently.
- Poster PDF (18x24 or 24x36): the display sign guests read at the entrance; goes to the print shop.
- Alphabetical lookup list: a letter-size A-to-Z list of names and table numbers; goes to the coordinator and the welcome-table staff.
- Escort and place card sheets: 8.5x11 sheets with crop marks; go to your own printer or a card vendor.
- Venue floor plan: a to-scale table layout with table numbers; goes to the venue and caterer for setup.
The floor plan deserves its own attention because it is drawn to scale, not decorative. A wedding floor plan creator places tables at true dimensions inside the room outline, which is what lets the venue crew set the physical room to match the chart guests will read.
Print-Ready Specs: Sizes and Resolution
Print-ready means 300 DPI at final output size, and print shops require correctly sized 300 DPI PDFs; files below that threshold come back blurry or get refused. Resolution is fixed at export time, so a 72 DPI screen capture never becomes printable no matter how the shop processes it. Match the size to the guest count, then verify the DPI in the file properties before uploading.
| Output | Size | Resolution | Typical print cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seating sign, up to 100 names | 18x24 in | 300 DPI | $20 to $40 |
| Seating sign, 100 to 200 names | 24x36 in | 300 DPI | $25 to $60 |
| Foam-board mounting | matches sign | n/a | $15 to $30 added |
| Card sheets | 8.5x11 in | 300 DPI | $0.10 to $0.50 per sheet |
Where you print matters as much as the specs; turnaround runs from same-day at a local shop to 5 to 7 days for online poster services, and the options are compared in the seating chart printing guide. The sign's frame, easel, or backdrop is a separate decision from the file, and how to display seating arrangement for wedding walks through the display formats the poster PDF feeds into.
Exporting the Alphabetical Guest Lookup List
The alphabetical guest lookup list is the working document your coordinator actually uses, a letter-size A-to-Z export of every guest name with a table number beside it. The poster is for guests; the list is for staff. When a guest arrives late, loses their card, or questions their seat, the coordinator finds the answer in seconds by surname instead of scanning a decorative sign table by table.
Export this list after every meaningful change, since it costs nothing and takes seconds. Print two copies for the day: one at the welcome table and one in the coordinator's binder. A third copy to the catering captain helps when meal choices are printed beside each name, because the kitchen resolves plate disputes from the same document.
Exporting Escort Cards and Place Cards
Escort card and place card sheets export as 8.5x11 PDFs with crop marks, laid out 6 to 10 cards per page for home or shop printing. Names, table numbers, and meal icons pull straight from the chart data, so the cards always agree with the sign; hand-typing a card file in a separate document is where mismatches are born. Print on 65 to 110 lb cardstock and cut along the marks, or send the same file to an online card printer.
The two card types do different jobs, escort cards route a guest to a table while place cards mark the exact seat, and most weddings need only one of them. The full breakdown in place cards vs escort cards settles which format your reception calls for before you print a few hundred of the wrong one.
What Does Export Cost?
Export costs $29 one-time on the Pro Couple plan, and building the chart costs nothing. The free tier runs entirely in the browser with no card on file: import guests, arrange tables, seat everyone, and preview every output. Pro Couple unlocks PDF export for $29 one-time, which covers all formats, the poster, the alphabetical list, card sheets, and the floor plan, with unlimited re-exports through the wedding date.
Planners running multiple weddings use Pro Planner at $29 per month for a multi-event workspace with client share links. For a couple, the one-time price is the whole cost; there is no subscription to cancel afterward. Compare both tiers and review seatbloom pricing, or set up your free seatbloom account and pay only when the files are ready to print.
The economics favor finishing before paying. Because re-exports are unlimited, a Thursday-night guest cancellation means a fresh PDF in seconds at no added cost, which is the difference between a $29 flat fee and a second $60 rush poster.
Sending the Floor Plan to Your Venue
The venue receives the floor plan PDF before setup day, ideally 1 to 2 weeks ahead, so the crew places every table where the chart says it stands. The file needs three things to be usable: table numbers matching the sign, table shapes and dimensions in feet or inches, and fixed features like the dance floor, bar, and DJ area marked in position. A plan missing dimensions gets interpreted, and interpreted rooms drift from the chart.
Send the same file to the caterer and confirm receipt with both parties rather than assuming the email landed. If the venue requests a change, a support pole, a fire-lane clearance, make the edit in the chart and re-export everything, so the sign, the cards, and the room never disagree.
Every deliverable on this page is downstream of one well-built chart, which is why the setup work matters more than the settings; seating chart maker tips and rules covers that upstream work, and the exports then take care of themselves.