Import Any Seating Chart — PDF, Photo, or Spreadsheet

You already have a chart—don't start over

Maybe your venue sent you a floor plan as a PDF. Maybe your wedding planner handed you a printed seating chart at your last meeting. Maybe you've been working on assignments in a spreadsheet for weeks. Whatever the case, you have a seating chart that already exists somewhere—and the last thing you want to do is recreate it from scratch in a new tool.

This is one of the most common frustrations in event planning. You've done the work, but your chart is stuck in a format that doesn't let you easily edit, share, or collaborate on it. Brunchie solves this with AI-powered import that reads your existing chart and turns it into a live, editable seating layout.

Three ways to import

Import from a PDF

Venues and wedding planners often provide floor plans and seating arrangements as PDFs. These might include table layouts, numbered seats, or full guest assignments. Upload the PDF to Brunchie and the AI parser reads it—extracting table names, seat counts, and guest assignments where available.

The result is a fully editable seating chart that matches your PDF. Tables appear with the right names and capacities. If guest names were included, they're assigned to the correct seats. From there, you can drag guests around, add preferences, or run auto-assign to optimize the layout.

This is especially useful when your venue provides a standard floor plan with table positions. Instead of manually counting seats and recreating the layout, just upload and go.

Import from a photo

Not everything comes in a tidy digital format. Maybe your planner sketched a layout on paper during a site visit. Maybe you're working from a whiteboard in the venue's office. Maybe you snapped a photo of a printed chart at a tasting event. See the importing data guide for tips on getting the best results from photo imports.

Take a photo of the chart—or use one you've already taken—and upload it to Brunchie. The AI uses vision processing to identify tables, read handwritten or printed names, and reconstruct the layout digitally.

It's not magic—the AI works best with clear, well-lit photos and legible handwriting—but it handles the heavy lifting. Even if it can't read every name perfectly, it builds the table structure so you only need to fill in the gaps rather than starting from zero.

Import from a spreadsheet

If you've been planning your seating in Excel or Google Sheets, you probably have a spreadsheet with columns like "Guest Name," "Table Number," and maybe "Meal Choice" or "Special Notes." This is the most structured import option, and it works exactly how you'd expect.

Export your spreadsheet as a CSV or upload the file directly. Brunchie maps the columns to guest names and table assignments, creating your seating chart with everyone already in place. For more on how Brunchie works with spreadsheet data, check out the spreadsheets guide.

What happens after import

Importing is just the starting point. Once your chart is in Brunchie, you get the full set of tools to refine and manage it.

Edit and rearrange

Drag guests between tables. Add or remove tables. Change capacities. Rename tables from "Table 7" to "The Fun Table" if that's your style. Everything is visual and interactive—no formulas, no cell references, no accidentally deleting a row.

Add preferences and constraints

This is where things get powerful. Mark guests who must sit together—couples, families, close friends. Flag people who should be kept apart. Note dietary restrictions so you can seat vegans together for more efficient service. Add accessibility flags for guests who need specific table locations.

These preferences feed directly into the auto-assign algorithm, so when you import a chart and then refine it with preferences, the AI can re-optimize seating around your constraints.

Run auto-assign

Already have some guests seated from the import but need to place new additions? Auto-assign handles incremental placement. It respects existing assignments and fills remaining seats based on your preferences. Read the full breakdown in our auto-assign deep dive.

Share with one link

Your imported chart—now fully editable and optimized—lives in your Brunchie hangout alongside your guest list, itinerary, and expenses. Share one link with your co-planner, wedding party, or venue coordinator. Everyone sees the same up-to-date chart. No emailing PDFs back and forth. No version confusion.

Common import scenarios

The venue floor plan

Your venue sends a PDF with their standard table layout: 10 round tables, each seating 8, plus a head table for 12. Upload it to Brunchie. The AI creates 11 tables with the correct capacities. Now you can start assigning guests without manually setting up each table.

The planner's draft

Your wedding planner presents a draft seating chart at your planning meeting—printed on paper with handwritten names. Snap a photo. Upload it. Brunchie extracts what it can, and you refine the rest. Way faster than typing 120 names into a new tool.

The spreadsheet you've been maintaining

You've had a Google Sheet for months with guest names, table assignments, RSVPs, and dietary notes. Export it as a CSV and import it into Brunchie. Your seating chart is instantly populated. Now you have a visual layout instead of rows and columns—and it's connected to everything else in your hangout.

The chart from another tool

You used another seating chart app but want to switch. Most tools let you export to PDF or CSV. Import that export into Brunchie, and you've migrated without losing your work. No recreating tables. No re-entering names.

Why import matters

Starting from scratch is the biggest barrier to adopting any new tool. If switching means redoing hours of work, most people won't switch—even if the new tool is better. Import removes that barrier. Whatever format your chart is in, bring it along.

Your seating chart isn't an isolated artifact. It connects to your guest list, your event schedule, and your expense tracking. In Brunchie, all of that lives together in one hangout. Import your chart and immediately get the benefit of that integration.

Ready to import your existing seating chart? Head to brunchie.app and upload your PDF, photo, or spreadsheet. See the full seating charts guide for step-by-step instructions.