How to Write Escort Cards and Place Cards

This may be one of the most common mistakes I hear on a regular basis, so I thought I'd dedicate a blog post to explaining the difference between escort cards and place cards, and the proper way to address your guests on each card.

While most people just refer to all name cards as "place cards", there is a distinct difference between the two. It's important to know the difference when you're ordering for your wedding, especially if you're ordering online!

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Escort Cards are generally at the entrance to the reception or at cocktail hour. These are very important, as they welcome your guests and tell them where to be seated. If this isn't done in an organized fashion, the guests can become frustrated immediately upon arriving at your reception, and that's the last thing you want!

Guests names on the front of the escort card, assigned table numbers on the inside.

Moulin Rouge themed wedding in Sandusky, OH

(Note: These are informally addressed escort cards that don't include titles.)

Escort cards by Amy Nixon Events

Photo by Trejo Photography

Formally, these cards should say the guests name and what table they are seated at. "Mr. & Mrs. John Smith, Table 12" or "Dr. Tom Jones, Table 2". If small children are attending, they should be included on the card "Mr. & Mrs. John Smith and Family",  and any children over 10 should have their own card with their own name.

Wine Cork Escort Cards for a Vineyard Wedding at Mon Ami Winery in Port Clinton, OH

Escort Cards by Amy Nixon Events

Photo by Terra Sol Studio

It's best to sort and display these alphabetically by last name (not by table). This way, the guests can easily find their names and spend less time in line at the table searching. Names should be addressed formally, same as the invitation. Include titles such as Dr., Mr. & Mrs, and military rankings (Colonel, Captain, Major, etc.. - military titles should never be abbreviated when addressing formally).

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Place Cards are at each place setting at each dining table. The place card at the table can be less formal if you wish, but titles should still be used. Each card has a guest's name, and that designates which seat the guest should sit at. Place cards can also contain a marker of some sort to let the catering staff know which dinner to serve to that guest (vegetarian, chicken, beef, etc...).

Moulin Rouge themed wedding in Sandusky, OH

Hand Folded Eiffel Tower Place Cards by Amy Nixon Events

Photo by Trejo Photography

Standard Tent Cards with Meal Markers for a 

Tented Tropical Wedding at Catawba Island Club in Port Clinton, OH

(These show markers for the catering staff signifying 

whether the guests meal should be beef, fish or vegetarian.)

Planning Tips :: Creative Escort Cards

Escort cards are an important part of any wedding because they help keep your carefully planned out seating chart in order and allow guests to easily find their seats. There are many different options for escort cards ranging from the simple to the elaborate. Choose something personal and creative, because this is the first thing that your guests will see when they enter your reception!

A beach themed wedding might have guests names and table numbers written in shells, or place the cards in a tray of sand. A flower or spring themed wedding might have the names and table numbers attached to a flower, or attached to a potted plant.

 Photo from TheKnot.com

 Photo by Amy Nixon Events

Another method is to show the seating assignments in a chart form. You can do a standard chart on an easel with the cards displayed on ribbons, or you can step it up even more. A creative way to tell guests where they are seated is to use a blown up photo of the bride and groom (20”x30” or even 30”x40”) and then split into rectangles, each bearing guests names on the front and table numbers on the back. Use the outer edge of the photo for the guests names, so once they're taken all that is left is the smiling faces of the bride and groom. 

Photo by Tunji Sarumi Photography

Photo by Becky's Photography

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My Anniversary :: 10.06.07

Today is my anniversary, so I thought I'd share some photos from my wedding.

 

 

 

 

Photos by Trejo Photography

Daily Inspirations :: Yellow + Gray

Lately I've been seeing a lot of yellow. I have several weddings coming up that are using yellow in their color scheme. It seems to be pretty dominant this year and next, so all my "daily inspirations" lately have been from looking at pretty yellow things!


Inspiration board from Every Last Detail

I Do Brunch

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual I Do Brunch in Clarksville, Maryland. The brunch is put on by Linnyette Richardson-Hall of Premier Event Management. The whole brunch was amazing from beginning to end! If you were staying at the reserved hotel for the event, a limousine shuttled you from the hotel to the brunch. If you drove yourself, there was valet parking right at the front door.





The theme for the day was an English Garden, and each table in the room was decorated differently. There were 16 tables, and 4 different teams worked to design the different table settings. Everyone at the brunch voted for the winner, and here are a few photos from the winning tables.











The menu was fantastic. The first station was the breakfast station, where I got the Chesapeake Benedict (English muffin topped with a poached egg and jumbo lump crab meat with a Chesapeake Hollandaise sauce). There was also scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, applewood cured bacon, and homemade biscuits with southern gravy. The second station was a Grits station, where you could choose your own toppings (sweet or savory). Third was the Luncheon station with tea sandwiches and an English cheese display. The signature drink to cap it all off was the I Do Mimosa, which was a sparkling spumante with passion fruit nectar and a strawberry.







After we ate, we had an open mic discussion about several different aspects of the wedding planning industry. We covered topics like advertising methods, social networking, what's changing the industry, and the hot topic of the day was Day-Of Coordination; whether or not it was a good idea and how different businesses handle their own Day-Of Coordination packages.



To go along with the English Tea theme, everyone was invited to wear a hat and enter a contest. The contest became a fashion show, and the winner was decided by applause. By the time I got my video camera on, it was just in time to capture Mark Kingsdorf from Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants with his entry in the contest.



Before it was over Linnyette had one more surprise for everyone. Since we as wedding planners don't get to cut loose and dance at the weddings, she had the DJ play a few dance tunes.



Our swag bags were filled with all kinds of goodies, and the bag was a prize in itself -- too cute!





Linnyette was wonderful to meet, and she was such a perfect hostess. She took the time to come by each individual table and speak to everyone and thank us for coming. Her insights during our discussions were empowering and motivating, and I left there with so many new ideas. This brunch was a wonderful learning experience for me, and I got to meet some lovely wedding planners from all over the place! Thanks to Premier Event Management and all of the other vendors and organizers. Can't wait for next year!