Photographer | Everyday Forever Weddings
You’re officially married and your guests are about to raise a glass to cheers to you and your husband as the newlyweds! However, a huge important step comes between your guests being seated at the ceremony and then getting seated for dinner, which is organized and articulated by the seating chart or escort card! We’ll get into these terms next, meanwhile these beautiful displays help keep the flow of the day on track and help bring out each and every guest’s name who have come to help celebrate you as the bride and groom!
WHAT ARE THEY?
Today we are diving into the ins and outs of the organization behind the reception space, which is the seating chart and escort cards! You may be wondering what exactly that is, so let’s define these important wedding terms.
Seating Chart- The seating chart is the listing of names of all of your guests invited to your wedding accompanied by a table number for which each of them is assigned to. This is what we typically like to call the blueprint behind the beauty.
Escort Cards- Escort cards are those which have the name of a guest and the table to which they are assigned. These are a great individualized alternative to the master seating chart, which also serves a dual function as a name card for the table!
Overall, the functions of the seating chart and escort cards are the same and both are typically seen at the entrance of the dining space of the reception, however the creativity and design of each is different as the possibilities are endless and up to the discretion of the bride!
CRAFTING THE SEATING CHART
Sometimes planning and coordinating the seating chart can become overwhelming or stressful especially as it concerns the needs and wants of the guests, but in those times it’s important to remember it’s YOUR day and they are there to celebrate YOU! When it comes to crafting the seating chart, an important part to the day, there are some things to consider which we want to give insight to! First, consider which tables are being used in the space, whether they’re circular, sweetheart, or rectangular, the shape of the table can impact how many guests and specific seating dependent on your wants. When it comes to seating, it can also be important to first figure out where your table as the couple will be! From there, it’ll make it easier to place guests, depending on if they’re family members, close friends, distant relatives, and so on. Another great concept to consider is organizing your tables by groups of guests! When it comes to who is helping celebrate on your special day, the guests present can be from all different stages of life, where some might not know the other. Because of this, grouping together guests who might be more familiar with the other might make the whole wedding experience that much more fun!
Photographer I Kailey Beth Photography
CREATIVITY AND DESIGN
Ahhh, the creativity and design of the seating chart and escort cards, personally our favorite part here at Riding Tandem. The options and opportunities are really endless when it comes to the design of your seating chart, so we’ve got some tips and tricks up our sleeve to share with you! When it comes to the seating chart, the foundation is the material that is used for the seating chart. Some options might look like using a poster board, a wooden sign, acrylic, or a mirror! It’s always a good idea to match the material to the theme of your day, and depending on what you decide it can also be budget friendly. The lettering can be printed or painted on using a chalk marker depending on your preference! You’ll then find your finished seating chart displayed using a metal or wood easel, perhaps even dressed up with florals!
When it comes to escort cards, you might find these on cardstock paper, fancy vintage paper, or a different material to showcase each guests’ name! You can choose whichever font for the handwriting, however oftentimes we see calligraphy! Many will display the escort cards on a table or wood wall, depending on the inspiration of the theme! This is where you have the most creative opportunities, whether it’s color, size, any additions, candles, ribbons, you name it, it can be as simple or elaborate to your liking. Something we have been seeing lately is the use of the name card to also determine which meal is being served if there are different options. If chicken and steak are being served, the name cards of guests with chicken might be pearl white, while the guests who have chosen steak might be sage green, dependent on the color palette of course! Totally up to you and how you’d like to personalize, we just wanted to give you the inside scoop!
Whether you want to DIY your signs or cards, or order them, some options for purchasing your beautiful signs could be from Minted or Etsy, where many creatives are hard at work to complete your aesthetic!
Photographer | Annette Ambrose
There you have it! This is considerably a small detail when it comes to the grand scheme of the wedding day but is a critical piece to not be overlooked. We hope you found this helpful and hope that it makes your life and your guests’ life easier when it comes to getting seated so they can toast to the newlyweds!
