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Wedding Place Cards

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    Learn More About Wedding Place Cards

    Wedding place cards are used to help guests know where to sit at your reception. Place cards are usually made of thick paper or card stock, but modern brides are opting for non-traditional materials too, like wood, acrylic, and crystal slices. Your guests will love these unique personal touches at their seat when you choose creative wedding seating cards from sellers on Etsy.

    Wedding name cards are placed on the tables where your guests will sit, usually above the plate or on a folded napkin. Each card shows the guest’s name and table number. Guests sometimes keep place cards as mementos, and you can collaborate with an Etsy seller to add a short message such as “Welcome” or “Thank you for sharing our day with us.”

    Unlike name cards, table cards are found on a table at the front of the reception room to help guests find their assigned seats. They are usually arranged in alphabetical order by last name. Each card lists the name or names of a party and their table number. While each guest has their own name place card at their table setting, a table card may list both names of a couple and their guests on a single card.


    Since table cards are one of the first things guests see as they enter your dinner venue, they’re a chance to set the tone for the reception to follow, from formal to casual. Choose the same material, color, and font for table cards and name cards.

    Perk up your wedding seating cards with some creative ideas from Etsy sellers. Find cards with special details like formal calligraphy lettering, torn edges and wax seals for a romantic touch. Set a folded, tent-style card at each table setting, or add elegance with unique place card holders such as rustic wood pucks, wine corks, or disco balls.


    For a contemporary look, try acrylic place cards. This clear plastic material is a bold change from traditional paper place cards. You can find many styles of acrylic name cards and table cards available from sellers on Etsy. Acrylic can look formal or casual, and names can be painted or engraved in a variety of fonts. Choose clear acrylic, or add a dash of color with a painted background.


    Other creative place card ideas include:

    • Laser-cut wood
    • Sea glass
    • Stone
    • Leaves

    Wedding seating card etiquette can be used as a guide when planning your seating chart, but remember that you can ultimately arrange your guests however you'd like. For example, close family members and other honored guests usually sit near the bride and groom, but you may opt to mix up your family groupings a bit, especially if you have close family friends who’d love to be near each other.


    To get you started, here are a few traditional place card etiquette tips, but remember, this day—and your seating chart—can be anything you’d like it to be:


    • Place cards for a wedding typically include the guest’s first and last name, but if you’ve got a fun nickname or another family moniker, go for it!
    • Tent-style cards should show the guests’ names on the front and back. If your card will lay flat, you can add the guest’s name on the front and a short message on the back.
    • Go as formal or informal as you like. Table cards can include titles with or without first names (like Ms. Ashley Jones or Ms. Jones), but leaving the first name out could cause confusion if you have multiple guests with the same last name. You can also opt to use just the guest’s first and last names without titles (such as: Ashley Jones).
    • For unmarried couples, it’s traditional to list the first and last names of both guests. For a single guest’s “plus one,” be sure to use their name instead of simply using a phrase like “and guest.”