Guides & Tutorials
How to Import Your Guest List From The Knot, Zola or Joy
Export your guest list from The Knot, Zola or Joy as a CSV and import it into a free seating chart. Steps for each site, what comes across, and re-imports.
Your guest list already lives on The Knot, Zola or Joy. Don't type it out again. Each site downloads the list as a CSV file, and SeatPlan.io reads that file straight into your seating chart.
This guide covers the download on each site and what happens to each column. It also covers guests who said no, and what to do when more RSVPs arrive. Once your guests are in, our guide on how to make a wedding seating chart takes it from there.
The short answer
- Download your guest list as a CSV file from The Knot, Zola or Joy. The steps for each site are below.
- Open your chart in the SeatPlan.io designer, go to the Guests list and click Import.
- Drop the file into the import dialog, check the guests on the Review Import screen, then click Import.
Export your guest list from The Knot
- On a computer, open your Guest List on theknot.com.
- Click Download List and choose Entire Guest List.
- If it asks, pick one row per guest rather than per party.
- Each Party becomes a group, so you can seat a household in one drag.
- The Knot sometimes leaves meal choices out of the file. Check them after the import.
Export your guest list from Zola
- On a computer, open your Guest List on zola.com. The Zola app can't export.
- Click the ··· menu at the top right and download the list.
- Want meal choices too? Open Track RSVPs and click Export RSVPs instead.
- A single Name column works as well as First and Last.
- Meal choices land on each guest, ready for name tags and the catering sheet.
Zola has a seating chart of its own. It lives in Zola's iOS app, and the free version stops at 15 guests. If you'd rather plan on a computer screen, bring the list across. SeatPlan.io has no guest limit on any plan. See how the two compare side by side.
Export your guest list from Joy
- Open your Guest List on withjoy.com.
- Click Export All Guests. Joy downloads a CSV.
- Each Party becomes a group, and your Joy tags come across as tags.
- Addresses and phone numbers stay behind. Your seating chart doesn't need them.
Menus on these sites change from time to time. If a button has moved, look for a download or export option on your guest list page.
Bring the file into your seating chart
- Open your chart in the designer. You don't need an account to start.
- In the Guests list, click Import. If your list is still empty, you can also drop the file on the Import your guest list box, or click Upload file.
- Drop your CSV or Excel file into the dialog, or click to browse. The import takes .csv, .xlsx and .xls files up to 5MB.
- If a column needs your call, the Map Columns screen asks which is which.
- Check your guests on the Review Import screen and untick anyone you don't want. Then click the Import button. It shows the count, for example Import 120 Guests.
Lost on the export? The import dialog carries the same steps. Under the drop area, find Coming from The Knot, Zola or Joy? and pick your site.
What comes across
Your headings can say anything, in any order. All SeatPlan.io needs is a name for every guest, in one Name column or in First and Last.
| In your export | In your seating chart |
|---|---|
| Name, or First Name and Last Name | The guest's name |
| Party, Household or Family | A group, so you can seat the whole party in one drag |
| Tags | Tags on the guest |
| Meal choice | The guest's meal, ready for name tags, the catering sheet and your menu |
| Dietary | The guest's dietary notes |
| The guest's email, for seat emails and Wallet passes | |
| Notes or Comments | A comment on the guest |
| Table and Seat | Kept with the guest. Apply seating then seats them at the matching tables on your canvas |
| RSVP | Guests who said no start unticked |
| Address and Phone | Left behind |
When AI matching is on, it also skips titles, totals and rows that aren't guests. Either way, you review every guest before anything is added.
Guests who said no
If your file has an RSVP column, the review screen reads it. Headings such as RSVP, RSVP Status, Attending or Attendance all count.
Guests whose answer is a no start unticked. That covers Declined, Regrets and a plain No, plus wording like Not attending or Can't make it. A note above the list says how many. Tick any of them to add them anyway.
No response means the guest hasn't answered yet. Those guests stay ticked, so they still get a seat while you wait.
Re-importing after more RSVPs come in
When the next batch of RSVPs arrives, download a fresh file from your wedding website and import it again. Import never removes anyone. If a guest has since declined, remove them from your guest list yourself.
SeatPlan.io checks every guest in the new file against your list. A matching email makes a duplicate, whatever the capital letters. Without an email match, it compares names. It ignores capital letters, extra spaces and a leading Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr or Prof.
When it finds duplicates, the review screen asks what to do with them.
- Skip. The guest already on your list stays as it is. This is the default.
- Update existing. The new file's details go onto the guest already there. Blank cells leave the old details in place, and the guest keeps their seat.
- Add anyway. You get a second copy of the guest.
Skip suits most re-imports. The new yeses come in and the guests you've already seated stay put. Pick Update existing when meal choices have arrived since your last import. For the changes that land in the final week, see last-minute wedding seating changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Turn your guest list into a seating chart
Download the CSV, drop it into the guest list and drag each party to a table.
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