15 Unique Wedding Place Cards & Escort Cards (Easy Directions for Reception Guests)
Whether you’re hosting a super formal event or an intimate micro-wedding in your backyard, wedding formalities can be confusing. Do you send wedding announcements to everyone or just those who are invited? What about save-the-dates? Formal invitations?
And that’s all before you actually get to the big day!
Wedding place cards and escort cards are two more examples of niceties we love, but they can be confusing.
Fear not! In this post, we’ll talk about why they’re different, what to do with them, and we’ll show you some really unique place cards and escort cards we think are fab. But let’s start with the basics.
Purpose of a Place Card & Escort Card
An escort card is used at the wedding reception to direct your guests to their table. Think of these cards as the guide that will lead your guests to their designated tables. If you’re hosting a buffet or family-style meal, a wedding escort card could replace a formal place card as long as you don’t have to get strategic with seating.
The place card is intended to display a guest’s specific seat assignment at the table. In a perfect world, an open table arrangement would be fabulous if you’re not doing a formal plated meal.
BUT, if you have family members who can’t sit next to each other and be trusted to behave like civilized adults, place cards will ensure everyone gets the spot you laid out while you were very carefully planning seating arrangements. And we’ll all live happily ever after.
A place card is also intended to display each guest’s meal preference. If you’re planning a plated reception dinner, the place card can also include the guest’s meal preference to avoid confusion for the caterers.
For instance, you can mark those who opted for a vegetarian meal with a “V”, or mark a “C” for those who ordered chicken, etc. It’s also important to list any food intolerances on your guest’s place card to make sure they get the right dinner!
Placecard vs Escort Card: What’s the Difference?
The short answer is where and how the card is displayed.
Escort cards are traditionally placed at the entrance of the reception venue to greet the guests. How you choose to present your escort cards is a matter of taste and resources, but we’ve seen some really creative escort card displays!
Cards can be hung on a board or a cord with clothespins (fairy lights are pretty for this) or displayed on a table. One of our favorite tabletop ideas is to place each guest’s name on a folded card and hang it on a wine glass to take with them to the table.
You can also display the table number and guest on one card, or list all guests on one card underneath the table number.
Place cards reside at each place setting. They can be displayed either on the plate or just in front as part of the place setting. We’ve also seen place cards hung creatively on each chair.
Heck, we’ve even seen amuse-bouche “place cards” to let guests know where they’re sitting AND give them a little bite to eat when they get there.
Both are neat ways to deliver wedding favors. From tiny jars of honey to candle favors and everything in-between, integrating your escort cards and/or place cards with your wedding favors is a great idea.
How the card is addressed
You can address escort cards per person, per couple, or per family. When designating an escort card for an individual person, list their full name (first and last) to avoid any confusion, especially if you’re hosting a large wedding.
When addressing a married couple, if the wife took his last name, you can go the route of “John and Jane Smith” or address them formally as “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith.”
When addressing an unmarried couple or a couple of friends attending together, both guest’s first and last names should be included.
If you’re not sure of a guest’s name because they’re a plus-one, reach out to their escort and get it. Or leave space on your RSVP cards to include their plus-one’s full name. It’s kind of a bummer (and maybe a little awkward) to be “John’s Guest” or a “Plus One.” It’ll make them feel much more welcome to list their full name on the escort card.
Note: If you do opt for formal titles, stay consistent and do the same for every guest. If you’re unsure whether a woman would prefer to be called “Ms.” or “Miss,” either find out or nix the formal titles altogether. Again, it could get awkward.
Kids under eighteen aren’t normally listed with a formal title, but we think they totally should be because it’s adorable. That’s just our opinion.
Ok! Who’s ready to check out some cool escort cards and wedding place cards?
8 Favorite Wedding Place Cards
1. Fountain Pen Place Card
This design is so simple and graceful, and we absolutely love it. Go click on the different color themes (there are eight to choose from). You’ll be blown away by how great they look in every single color!
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat or Folded
2. Painted Color Block Place Card
On the other end of the style spectrum, the vibrant colors and boxy design of this wedding place card are just brilliant together. They come in three color themes, and each dramatically changes the aesthetic of the card without changing the design. Very classy.
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat or Folded
3. Ocean Shoreline Place Card
These cards are perfect for the beach destination wedding we all need right now – an evening luau with tiki torches and the ocean breeze sounds heavenly.
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Folded
4. Boho Greenery Place Card Template
Romantic visions of springtime garden weddings are dancing in our heads! These printable place cards are completely customizable, and you can create up to 36 place cards at a time for maximum efficiency. Look at you takin’ care of business!
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Digital Download
5. Cotton Gloss-Press™ Place Card
by Robin Ott
For simplicity with a unique twist, you can’t beat these place cards. They’re printed using the gloss-press technique exclusively developed by Minted, a process that creates a subtle but elegant effect.
Do you think it’s as cool as we do? Well, you’re in luck. The gloss-press printing technique can be customized to match any of Minted’s invitation designs, too.
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Gloss-Press
Card Type: Flat Card
6. Deco Fringe Foil-Pressed Place Card
Oh, these are so fancy- they belong at a grand Gatsby-esque event. With seven color themes and seven foil colors to choose from, it’ll be easy to design them to fit any wedding color palette.
Not sure if it’s the right look? Minted will send you a free sample kit so you can feel the quality of their foil-pressed invitations before you commit.
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Foil-Pressed
Card Type: Flat or Folded
7. Hand-Torn Rustic Ribbon Place Card
Perfect for a rustic-themed wedding, these charming little cards are so romantic! Every order includes the raw-edged, punched paper cards addressed entirely by hand with an attached silk ribbon in your choice of five colors.
Dimensions: 3 x 2.5 inches
Printing: Hand Printed
Card Type: Flat
8. Minimalist Place Card
Minimalism won’t ever go out of style, and these cards are the perfect example of how minimalism and elegant design work so well together. Beautiful and low-maintenance? Love it.
Dimensions: 2 x 3.5 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Folded
7 Wedding Escort Cards We Love!
9. Rings Escort Card
The marriage of design and font gives this escort card a striking aesthetic, and that sea glass color is amazing. Of course, the other color options of “pine” and “aqua” are gorgeous too. We’re glad you’re the one who has to choose, because this one’s tough!
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat and Folded
10. Round Gold Foil Escort Card
by CatePaperCo
Remember earlier in this article when we said we thought attaching escort cards to wine glasses was a great idea? Well, this is what we were talking about!
A simple, understated round place card with your choice of gold, rose gold, or silver foil font tucked snugly on a champagne glass is the best way to welcome your guests to the party!
Dimensions: 2 inches round
Printing: Foil-Pressed
Card Type: Flat
11. Custom Escort Seating Chart
by Etsy: MintyPaperieShop
A unique alternative way to present your escort cards is to list the tables then post each escort card beneath them. This vintage chalkboard-style seating chart does the same job in a unique way.
If you’re hosting a micro-wedding or a more casual gathering, this is a fantastic alternative to traditional escort cards! The chart is available as a downloadable JPG file.
12. Black & White Tab Escort Cards
by 2birdstone
If you’re hosting a formal, black-tie wedding, we think these escort cards would be just perfect! Very crisp and sophisticated. This style is available in eight tasteful color themes.
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat and Folded
13. Pretty Picado Escort Cards
These cards are so cheerful! They’d be the perfect match for a whimsical or daytime brunch wedding. (Or a whimsical daytime brunch wedding!) They’re available in eight beautiful color themes, but we happen to like sunshine yellow the best. For what it’s worth.
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat and Folded
14. Harvest Floral Escort Card
by Leah Bisch
A beautiful bohemian design plays well with geometric elements on these wedding escort cards, and the flourish of font and metallic foil embellishments add extra elegance. These would be great for a traditionally themed wedding, too.
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Foil-Pressed
Card Type: Flat and Folded
15. Forest Crest Escort Card
We’ve seen some beautiful greenhouse weddings in our time. Right out of the gate, we thought the botanical style of these escort cards would be just perfect for a glittering affair surrounded by greenery. With five color options, they’d be great for either a daytime or an evening wedding!
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 inches
Printing: Standard
Card Type: Flat Card
7 Alternative Place Card Ideas
We are always filing away cute ideas and details that we come across. If the above wedding place cards aren’t what you’re after, here are a few more creative ideas you could do instead. These place card ideas would work great whether you are hosting a wedding, a bridal shower, or even just a dinner party!
1. Fruit
A sweet and inexpensive way to add a pop of color to your place settings. Strawberry via Marry You Me, lemon via Once Wed.
2. Unique Place Cards – Colored Rocks
Rocks can serve triple duty, besides indicating where to sit, they weigh down napkins and menu cards (especially at an outdoor wedding where there might be wind) and could be a fun keepsake for guests! Plus, they’re free. Just make sure you find relatively flat ones and write directly on them. Left via iDiY, right via postcards and pretties.
3. Placecard Leaves
Another thing you could easily gather for free, leaves are perfect to set the mood for a fall wedding. Left via Design Sponge, right via Sunset Magazine.
4. Scrabble Tiles as Wedding Place Cards
Check out your local thrift stores, and you’re sure to find a few old games of Scrabble that somebody cast off. One cute idea is to use the tiles to spell out guests’ names! Left via Style at Home, right via this wedding.
5. Use What You Have
Stamp the names on napkins, via Ruffled. Or, use a sheet of pretty paper as both place mat and place card, via Martha Stewart Weddings. So pretty, so do-able.
6. Lightbulb Place Cards
The lightbulb terrariums below, via Ruffled, were a DIY project by the bridal party and served as place cards/awesome favors. Brilliant! (no pun intended)
7. Marble Place Cards
Loving the look of these geometric inspired marble place cards from a real wedding we featured!
Let the Planning Commence!
Regardless of how you choose to host your reception, there’s something about an official place card and/or escort card at a wedding that makes your guests feel special. Hopefully, we’ve provided you with some inspiration and ideas to find the perfect cards to match your style!
Happy wedding planning!
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Thank you for your unique ideas. It’s great helpful for us.