Round vs long tables at a wedding: which should you choose?
Round tables
- The UK default: easy to talk across, easy to give each table a number or name.
- 5ft rounds seat 8–10; 6ft rounds seat 10–12.
- Easy to plan: each table is a self-contained group.
Long (banquet or trestle) tables
- Feel relaxed and communal — great for barns, marquees and smaller weddings.
- Usually fit more people in the same space.
- Harder to plan: you choose not just the table but who sits opposite whom.
Mixing both
A popular compromise: a long top table (or "feasting" table) for family and rounds for everyone else. Tidy Tables supports round, long and top tables in the same plan.
How it affects the sign
With long tables you may want to name tables after places or themes and list guests in seat order; with rounds, numbered tables in a grid is easiest for guests to read.
Try a long-table plan free
Free planner, no account. Print-ready signs and place cards £7.99 one-off.
More guides
- How to make a wedding table plan (step by step)
- Top table seating order: the traditional UK line-up (and modern options)
- What size should your table plan sign be? A1, A2, A3 or A4
- Wedding table plan for 100 guests: layouts that work
- Table plan for a small wedding (50 guests or fewer)
- Seating divorced or separated parents at a wedding
- Table plans for christenings, birthdays, charity dinners and Christmas parties