Reception Seating - Place Card & Escort Card Ideas

When it comes to seating guests at your wedding reception, you have multiple options. From open seating, to escort cards, to seating charts, to place cards…it all depends on your personal taste and the formality of your event. What is the difference you ask? You are not the only one. Often times we have brides asking... "What is the difference is between place cards and escort cards?" or "What is the difference between escort cards and seating charts?" To best explain the differences between your seating options, let’s start at the dinning tables and work our way outward….

A place card is a card (or other name indicator) that is placed at every seat at each dining table prior to the start of an event, specifying the exact seat at which a guest should sit. An escort card is located at a separate location (usually on a table at the entrance of the dining area). Each card displays a guests name (usually in alphabetical order) along with the specific table they should sit at. Now for those who wish to forgo the whole card idea, but still wish to indicate where your guest sit, a seating cart could be a good option for you. A seating chart is a list chart or diagram layout of you dinning area, which lists all the quests’ names and their assigned tables. Although all of these options allow for theme great ideas, formal assigned seating is not a must. If you are looking for a more casual feel, open seating is perfect for you. Open seating allows for guest to sit at any seat at any table.

We have including some theme ideas below if you are looking to add a little pizzazz to your reception and love the place card or escort card concept.

Quite 'Charm'ing

Great for a wine theme or vineyard setting.  Attach escort cards to wine charms or use a cork as a place/escort card holder.

                                  www.stylemepretty.com

“Please Be Seeded”

Great for a garden theme or love for plants. Take a planter box (or similar looking tray) and fill decorative moss. Then place each card on top of the moss with a sign that reads “Please Be Seeded.” Or use small orange planters pots with prepackaged seedlings and create plant name tags/sticks with your guests name. (Double as a favor!)

Book Worm

Great for book lovers. Set up a row of old books on a table then create bookmark escort cards and place one in each book in alphabetical order.

                                    www.weddingwire.com

Antique

Great for vintage theme. Re-purpose an old pair of shutters and hang cards on the slats. Or find a large antique picture frame and attach rows of string across the back of the frame. Then hang or pin your cards to the string.

Country Chic

Great for country or rustic theme. Tie some decorative ribbon around some hay bales and attach the cards to the ribbon. Or hang up a laundry line between two trees clothes pinned the cards to the line. 

                                                         www.theknot.com

Fruit

Great if you want to add more color to your tables. Try writing your guests names on fruit (i.e. apples). This could also be a cute idea if the bride or groom is a teacher!

Creative Wedding Table Names

Sometimes it’s the littlest touches that make a wedding truly unique to the couple getting married. Creative wedding table numbers or names are a great way to add a unique flare to your wedding and are usually not that difficult to incorporate. Below are a few ideas to get you started:

• Locations: Think of places the two of you have traveled to together or would like to travel to. Then list each table as the names of theses locations, as a picture of these locations or as a picture of the two of you in these locations
• Engagement photos: Add a different engagement photo to each table number
• Hobbies you have together: For example if you both like to garden, name each table a different flower or herb
• Music: List of your favorite songs or artists
• Tie into your theme: For example if you are getting married at a vineyard, name each table a different type of wine or make custom wine bottle labels
• Multilingual Couple?: Write “I Love You” in different languages
• Your Story: For example if you met in college include names of halls, buildings or locations either tied to that school or special to how you met
• Q&A: Label each table with a statement to resemble a question (i.e. First Memory). Then on the table include a picture of each of you. Below each picture state the full question (i.e. What is your first memory of _____?) and then your separate answers. (Give your answers to a third party to make it a surprise for the both of you as well!)

These are just a few of many ideas to give your wedding a more personal touch. You can even take the creativity one step further by adding some DIY crafting to the display of your table names. From picture frames to bedazzling the options are endless!

Buffet or Plated Service- My Only Catering Options?

Are you tired of the traditional buffet or plated service catering options for your wedding reception? To add little wow factor and entertainment for your guests, consider Food Stations. This can be a fun way to keep the mood of your wedding very social. Depending on space and price conditions, set up 5 to 10 Chef-attended stations around the room. Each station can feature a different type of cuisine or different variation of one type of cuisine. Every station should include guest interaction and a unique presentation to ensure that overall wow factor for your wedding reception! You want to encourage people to move around the room so they can taste each of the delicious cuisines, so make sure you make it easy for them to do so.

Do you like buffet and plated service, but know with your time and/or space constraints, you need to consider other catering options?  If this is the case, Family Style Service may be a better fit for you. Family Style catering serves your meal on platters to each table and guests are then encouraged to serve themselves. Much like the name implies, this style of catering allows your guests to become more intimate as they gather around their meal much like a Thanksgiving feast with family.