Every gala room answers the same three questions: where is the stage, where do the sponsors sit, and how many tables of ten fit. Start from a layout that already answers them, then make it your ballroom.
Free for up to 20 guests and 4 tables. No credit card required.
Each is a working floor plan with the stage placed and the tables sized. Open one and it becomes your gala.
A stage, three VIP tables up front, and eight tables of ten behind: the standard ballroom gala.
View templateAn auction stage, two sponsor tables in front, and six tables of ten for a fundraising dinner.
View templateA stage and five long banquet tables running toward it, for a gala dinner of 80 to 100.
View templateA head table and four long tables of sixteen for a formal banquet, awards dinner or holiday party.
View templatePlace the stage first; everything else faces it.
Move the stage to where the venue builds it, then add or remove tables of ten until the room matches your ticket count.
The stage, the sponsors and the shape of the room decide it.
The black-tie gala dinner: three VIP tables of ten directly in front of the stage and eight more behind. The ballroom standard for 100 to 250.
The charity fundraiser: two sponsor tables closest to the auction block, six tables of ten behind, one board member hosting each.
The long-table gala: five banquet tables of eighteen running toward the stage, for a museum, library or narrow historic hall.
The grand banquet: a head table of hosts or honorees and four long tables below, for an association or alumni dinner.
Record each guest’s meal and dietary needs, then export the guest list with every table for the caterer.
Download the finished chart as a PDF or image, or order a printed seating sign from the PlanSeats sign shop.
If the ballroom is wide and the program is speeches and an award or two, start with the black-tie gala dinner. Rounds of ten keep the room full and every table can see the stage.
If there is a live auction, start with the charity fundraiser. The auction block is the stage, and your most generous bidders need to be close enough to be seen raising a paddle.
If the room is long and narrow, or rounds would crowd it, start with the long-table gala. Guests face along the table toward the stage instead of turning their chairs.
Sponsor tables, tiers and the seats still unsold.
Turning a list of ticket buyers into full tables.
Layouts for every event that is not a wedding.
The venue’s banquet diagram shows numbered circles and a stage. It is accurate and fixed, and the seating lives in a spreadsheet beside it.
A PlanSeats layout is the same room with the seating inside it, so moving a sponsor table moves its guests with it, and the committee sees one current plan.
Ten at a 72-inch round is the usual gala table, which is what the gala and fundraiser layouts use. The long-table gala seats eighteen per table.
Closest to the stage, where the program and the photographs happen. Both the gala dinner and the fundraiser layout put them there.
A template’s tables do not count toward the Free plan’s 4-table limit, so you can open any layout on Free. Free covers up to 20 guests; for more, the Planner plan is $8.99 a month.
Upload it as the background and move the layout’s tables onto it, so the stage and the tables sit where the venue will build them.
The stage placed, the front tables ready for your sponsors, and a room you can seat, change and share with the committee.
Free for up to 20 guests and 4 tables. No credit card required.