Half of couples seated 104 guests or fewer, and the median guest count rose from 101 in 2025 to 106 in 2026
The average wedding held from January 2025 through September 2026 had 112 guests, according to an analysis of seating charts and place cards that couples made on Wedding Templates for about 4,870 weddings. The median was 104 guests, meaning half of the weddings had 104 guests or fewer.
Guest lists grew over the period. The median guest count rose from 101 in 2025 to 106 in the first nine months of 2026, and the average rose from 109 to 114.
Because couples usually finish seating charts and place cards after RSVPs come in, the counts reflect guests expected to attend rather than everyone who was invited.
The figures come as more couples marry. The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics counted 2,128,446 marriages in the United States in 2024, according to provisional CDC data, up 4.2% from 2,041,926 in 2023 and the most in any year since 2018. The marriage rate rose to 6.3 per 1,000 people, from 6.1.
Key findings
- The average wedding had 112 guests, and the median wedding had 104.
- 46% of weddings had 100 guests or fewer, and 21% had more than 150.
- The median rose from 101 guests in 2025 to 106 in 2026.
- Fall weddings were the largest, with a median of 112 guests, and winter weddings the smallest, at 88.
- Saturdays accounted for 72% of weddings. Saturday weddings had a median of 110 guests, compared with 92 on Fridays and 90 on Sundays.
- The median seating chart had 12 guest tables, with an average of 8.6 guests at each.
Most weddings have 50 to 150 guests
Seven in 10 weddings in the data had between 50 and 150 guests: 37% had 50 to 100 and 33% had 101 to 150. Weddings with fewer than 50 guests made up 9% of the total. At the other end, 14% had 151 to 200 guests and 7% had more than 200. Put another way, a 150-guest wedding was larger than about four in five weddings in the data, and a 50-guest wedding was smaller than about nine in 10.
That tail of large weddings is why the average sits above the median. A relatively small number of guest lists above 200 pulls the average up, while the median, the midpoint when all weddings are ranked by size, does not depend on how large the biggest weddings are. For a typical wedding, the median of 104 is the closer guide.
Guest lists grew in 2026
Both measures rose by five guests from 2025 to 2026: the median from 101 to 106 and the average from 109 to 114. The growth came at the top end. Weddings with more than 150 guests made up 23% of 2026 weddings, up from 19% in 2025, while weddings with fewer than 50 guests fell from 10% to 8%. Weddings of 100 guests or fewer went from 49% of the total in 2025 to 44% in 2026.
The 2026 figures run through September, so they do not yet include weddings held in October, November and December. In the full data set, fall weddings had the highest median guest count of any season, so the full-year 2026 figures could still change once those months are counted.
The national marriage count has also recovered. Marriages fell to 1,676,911 in 2020, when the pandemic limited gatherings, and the 2024 total of 2,128,446 was close to the 2,132,853 recorded in 2018, according to the CDC figures. The marriage rate followed the same path, from 6.5 per 1,000 people in 2018 to 5.1 in 2020 and 6.3 in 2024.
Fall and Saturday weddings are the largest
The season made a difference of more than 20 guests. Fall weddings, held September through November, had a median of 112 guests. Summer weddings followed at 106 and spring weddings at 101. Winter weddings, held December through February, were the smallest, with a median of 88.
The day of the week mattered as well. Saturdays accounted for 72% of the weddings in the data, Fridays for 14% and Sundays for 9%. Saturday weddings had a median of 110 guests. Friday weddings had a median of 92 and Sunday weddings 90, 18 to 20 fewer guests than a typical Saturday wedding. Fall Saturday weddings were the largest group of all, with a median of 118 guests.
How couples seat their guests
The median seating chart had 12 guest tables, with an average of 8.6 guests per table; guest tables exclude sweetheart and head tables. For a wedding of median size, that works out to about a dozen tables of eight or nine guests each.
Sweetheart tables, where the couple sits alone, appeared on 38% of seating charts. Head tables, where the couple sits with the wedding party, appeared on 17%, so sweetheart tables were more than twice as common. Kids’ tables appeared on 11%. Most couples, 63%, numbered their tables, while 37% gave them names instead.
What the numbers mean for planning
For couples who also made their invitations on WeddingTemplates, there were 1.8 seated guests for every invitation, since couples and families usually receive one invitation per household. At that ratio, a wedding of median size, 104 guests, would need about 58 invitations, and a 150-guest wedding about 83.
The table figures translate the same way. At 8.6 guests per table, the median wedding fills 12 tables, and a 150-guest wedding about 17. Place cards follow the guest count one for one, so the median wedding needs 104 of them.
Canada, the United States and design style
Weddings in Canada were larger than those in the United States, with a median of 118 guests compared with 102.
Guest counts also lined up with the style of stationery couples chose. Weddings with Classic designs had the largest median guest count, 118, followed by Rustic designs at 109. Weddings with Minimalist designs had a median of 96 and those with Boho designs 92.
Where the smaller weddings are
Smaller weddings cluster in a few parts of the data. Winter weddings, Friday and Sunday weddings, and weddings with Minimalist or Boho designs all had median guest counts below 100. Winter weddings held on a Friday or Sunday were the smallest group, with a median of 76 guests. In the data, the off-peak seasons and days were also the ones with smaller guest lists. Weddings with fewer than 50 guests made up 9% of the total and may be undercounted, since couples hosting very small weddings may not need a seating chart or place cards.
About the data
The analysis covers about 4,870 weddings held between January 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026, whose couples made a seating chart, place cards or both on WeddingTemplates, an online editor for wedding stationery. Of those weddings, 3,610 had a seating chart and 2,350 had place cards, including about 1,090 with both; each wedding was counted once, by its date. Guest counts are the number of named seats on the seating chart, or the number of place cards where there was no chart. Spring is March through May, summer June through August, fall September through November and winter December through February. Country figures use the wedding location. Test and staff accounts are excluded. The figures describe weddings planned with WeddingTemplates and are not a national estimate. Marriage counts are provisional figures from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
Media contact
Name: Abraham Hart
Email: [email protected]
Organization: DigiVault LLC
Website: https://www.weddingtemplates.com/
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