Framed Seating Chart or Place Cards?

I think people here will generally recommend escort cards since they're easier to make last-minute changes.

As a guest, I think either are acceptable. Do whatever makes sense, financially speaking. If you are doing plated meals, where guests have to indicate what meal they want, I would say just do escort cards then. Because if you do a seating chart, you will still have to have a place card at the table indicating what meal each person is having. So we are just doing escort cards that have the table number and meal on them and placing them in alphabetical order.

I wanted a photo seating chart but then I thought about how it would look the day of. I feel like it will create a line where folks are just waiting to get up there to see it which will cause a delay in folks being seated lol. I went the Esty route and brought a template for place cards for $5 bucks and I'll print them off myself or at staples on card stock paper.


Plus I couldn't figure out with the seating chart on how to let the servers know who gets what meal. The template I'm using comes with an option to add the little animal stickers on the place card. Let me know if you'd like the link!

Strongly agree with escort cards -- they are easier for you and for guests. As mentioned, the number 1 benefit is that last minute changes are super easy -- I was able to move a couple people around 24 hours before daughter's wedding when a cousin asked to bring her teen daughter rather than her ill husband; it made more sense to put the daughter at a different table with other young people, so I changed two escort cards and was done! Also, as a guest, I'm terrible about looking at a chart and two minutes later not remembering what table number I was assigned to. Finally, especially if you alphabetize and spread out the escort cards, they are quicker and easier for guests to grab rather than having to gather around a chart and try to find their assignment.

I am always a much bigger fan of escort cards. With that many people, a seating chart causes a bottleneck because everyone is crowding around trying to find their name. Also, I pretty much always forget my table number when I walk away from the thing, as I usually start chatting with someone. With the escort card, I just pull it out of my purse and keep it moving. Also, an escort card can be used to "save" your seat once you get to the table if you then decide to go to the restroom or get a drink or something. This is on top of what everyone else said about being able to make last minute changes. They are also so much cheaper. I bought a pack of Avery small tent cards for about $10 on Amazon, probably less. They came with a free online template and I just printed them all on my home printer. So if you're looking for the frugal option, I'd say escort cards are the way to go.

I'm team escort card as well - I think a seating chart works fine for smaller weddings, but there'll definitely be a backup if you're expecting 160-185 guests. Escort cards will go so much faster since the pile will get smaller and smaller as people take their cards with them. It'll also end up being less expensive - you can buy plain place cards from Staples and print them yourself for cheap!

I've been to weddings with both, and had no issue with crowding around the chart. I actually found I had to wait longer for people to grab their escort cards, despite them being alphabetical. The most recent wedding I attended had a chart and they actually had printed three of them, one in the cocktail hour space, and one at each of the entrances to the reception venue and I didn't notice any crowding. I plan on having two seating charts printed (i'm making it in canva and printing at staples to save money) and putting one near the guest book in the entrance to the venue, and one in the entrance to the ballroom.

Escort cards are easier for last minute changes though.

We were going to do a seating chart and we actually changed up a few days ago. After thinking about it, we feel it would be less backed up and crowded to just pick up your name and go. I also saw one person make a statement that what if someone forgets their table number and has to go back to the seating chart??


At least with the escort cards, they have it in hand and can just refer to it if they forget. Especially with the amount of guests you plan on having, it seems like escort cards would be easier and faster. We're also doing it alphabetized by last name as well to keep things as steady as possible.

Escort cards make way more sense. I suppose if you're just assigning tables then the poster style would work, as long as there are no last minute changes.

We are doing a seating chart and will have about 120 guests. We don't get a lot of time for set-up and I felt like a seating chart would be less to worry about. Also, our cocktail hour and reception space are combined, so guests will have the entire cocktail hour to look at the chart and put their stuff down at their seat.

The seating chart is costing about $100 total. I bought a template off Etsy for $10, it will cost about $40 to get it printed and mounted on poster board (vistaprint) and I bought a gold backless frame from Hobby Lobby during a sale for $50. If you do it that way, you can also reuse or sell the frame later.

I got printable cards and will just choose a font and put the table number and names on it.

Escort cards are easier and cheaper. Especially since you will need to make last minute adjustments which which are very expensive to reprint on a poster. The other advantages of escort cards: easier to read, don’t cause traffic jams, and guests don’t forget their assignments because they have the card in their hand.