Let’s define place cards first. Place cards are wonderful for small weddings because it is a simple way to let guests know exactly which seat/chair you want them to sit at. A place card literally shows your guests which chair you want them to sit on. By placing their name onto some sort of material (ie: card stock, plastic, acrylic, agate, etc.) and then set up at their place setting, your guest will find their name and sit at that seat.
The most common material for a place card is card stock.
Escort cards can be just as creative as place cards, but since it’s intention is to guide guests to their correct table, they should be arranged at a convenient place for guests to pick up as they enter your reception area. Most commonly, you will find these set up at the welcome/registration table.
The only time that either place cards or escort cards are required are if you are serving a plated menu where guests were given a choice of entree. The cards will need to end up on the table and visible to servers to see and determine each guest’s selection. If you opted for escort cards, your MC can easily request all guests to place their card onto their table in front of them.
If you are planning to print a menu for each of your guests, you can even combine both the menu and place card to be efficient :-).
While both place cards and escort cards have guests names on them, the escort card literally helps to escort your guests to the table you have a seat reserved for them at. In order for this to serve it’s purpose the guest’s name AND table number must be listed on each escort card.
To help guests find their escort card as quickly as possible, we recommend that cards are set up in alphabetical order (by last name). If you opt to group the cards by tables, your guests will need to look through all cards with the hopes of coming across their name as soon as possible.
As part of your planning responsibilities, you will need to create a key/code so servers can easily know what to serve each guest. Common keys/codes are colors, stickers, and icons. NOTE: place cards can also be useful at weddings with sensitive family dynamics where careful consideration of placement and seating can help everyone to feel comfortable.
We hope you have found this helpful. If you would like us to discuss a specific topic, please reach out to us and let us know!
XOXOXO
Happy Planning!
(A Perfect Day)