To guide your guests to their seats, you have lots of options: a wedding seating chart, escort cards, and place cards. To figure out which option is right for your big day, let’s explain each option. In this blog post, I’ll dive into each one and will give the reasons you’d need one over another.
The first option here is a wedding seating chart. This can be a simple foam core board outlining guests’ names and table numbers, a mirror, acrylic, wooden or other surface with the information, or another creative installation conveying the seating arrangements. The key here is that it’s simply visual. Guests find their name and table number and remember the assignment. They don’t take anything to hold and walk around with.
A wedding seating chart could be used on its own, or in tandem with place cards. More on that below… but first, some inspo pictures of seating charts!
Escort cards are individual cards that feature guests’ names and table numbers. They escort them to their assigned seat. These can be done per couple or per individual guest, but this may depend on the catering setup. The cards can be positioned on a table as “tented,” traditional paper cards or printed on a non-traditional surface. Separately, they can be incorporated into a larger installation setup, which is ideal to pair an escort card with a beverage or favor, in tandem with the seating assignment.
Place cards are positioned at each guest’s seat and indicate their specific place. Typically, these are used alongside either a wedding seating chart or escort cards, as an added element. The only time you’d only use place cards would be at an intimate event with a very small guest count.
Since the place cards are positioned at specific seats, these cause an added level of planning needed. You aren’t just assigning these eight guests at a table, but which particular chairs those same eight guests will occupy. Fair warning that it’s an extra step! If you don’t want to go this route for your whole guest count, some couples opt to use place cards for their head table.
The place cards can be their own individual card (or other decorative object), or the menu can be personalized with the guest’s name. This is a great way to combine two elements as part of the tablescape.
So there you have it! I hope this roundup of wedding seating charts, escort cards, and place cards has been helpful for you as you plan your big day. I offer all of these options to my clients and talk through all of them to weigh the pros and cons, based on their unique event, as part of their process. I’d be honored to work with you.