A guest cancels after the place cards are printed: what to do

If a guest cancels

1. Pull their place card (or escort card) before setup, so nobody looks for them.
2. Tell the caterer and venue the new headcount and which table lost a seat. Ask whether you're past their final-count date; you may still be charged for the meal.
3. Leave the seating chart. A name on the board for someone who isn't there confuses nobody. Reprint only if several people at one table dropped out.
4. Decide about the empty chair. Ask the venue to remove the setting, or move a guest from a crowded table if that helps the room.

If a guest is added

1. Choose their table where there's room, and tell the venue so a setting is added.
2. Make one place card. A blank card in the same design and neat handwriting is fine and nobody will notice.
3. The chart is the hard part. If it's already printed, add the guest to the QR page or backup list so they can still find their seat, or tell them their table as they arrive.

If a guest moves tables

It's a cancellation and an addition together: pull the old card, make a new one showing the new table, and update both tables' counts with the caterer.

Plan for it before you print

• Print place cards last, a day or two before, when replies have stopped moving.
• Keep blank spares in the same design, and a pen that suits the cardstock.
• Hold a couple of spare seats at one table for a late yes.
• Give someone the list on the day. A coordinator with a current guest list solves most problems at the door.

How Kindly Seated handles late changes

• Edit once. Change the guest on your dashboard and the chart, cards, table numbers, caterer sheet and QR page all update.
• Reprint only what changed. If you've already downloaded your place cards, we give you a file with just the new or changed cards, and a list of the old ones to pull.
• Blank spares included. Every place-card file ends with four blank cards in your design.
• The QR page is live. It shows the new table immediately, even if the printed chart can't.

How this guide was written

Written and published by Kindly Seated, a one-person studio in Utah. The measurements and layout advice come from our own typesetting software, run on fictional guest lists. Drafting was AI-assisted; Alex reviewed and edited every sentence before it went live, and reviews it again whenever the "Updated" date changes. Nothing here is sponsored.