Help! Last Minute Freak Outs - Apps & Place Cards

You could just use the escort cards as the place cards! People typically put them in front of the seat they are sitting in at their assigned table anyway (as a way to claim their spot). You could just put the meal choice in one of the corners. You could write their choice, or even use different color stickers: a blue circle would be meal choice A, a green square is meal choice B, etc.

I would add a second app if it's in your budget! A lot of people don't eat bread and a lot of people don't like tomatoes. Maybe a meatball or something?

I would absolutely add a different app. I know a lot of people who don’t like tomatoes who would also be disappointed not to have a snack.


Nothing wrong with 2 cards, but it seems unnecessary, so I’d try to push back with your caterers a bit. Adding meal selection to escort cards is relatively normal, and if you can provide your caterer with a list of which entrees go to which table, that should be good enough. Most people put their escort cards at their seat, especially if they notice their entree selection is on it. Perhaps you could just have a sign where the escort cards are set up saying to take it and place it at your seat. But whatever works. It’s totally totally fine to have an escort card in addition to a place card, and fine for them to be the same design. I’d just be annoyed as the bride for the extra work !

Thanks guys. This was the push I needed for a second app. Thankfully the caterer was able to provide. I'm not so worried about the tomato part going over poorly with our guests because I know my crowd very well and we picked it based on it being almost universally loved by them. Mostly, I wanted to have variety. I might just bite the bullet write the meal choice on the escort card or sticker them. They are going to look very ugly unless I put the sticker on the back, which I might do.

The venue is also getting a list of meals per table and our largest table has 6 people at it so really it shouldn't be difficult for them to serve.

You are overthinking.


Try to have a couple appetizer choices. What is inexpensive that they offer in addition to bruschetta? While some people love it, others don’t and may be lactose intolerant or vegan. Can you have a fruit platter, chips and salsa, hummus and chips or something similar in addition? Those options should not make you go over budget while making sure your guests are taken care of.
Most couples have one set of escort cards and skip the seating poster. Assign tables and let them pick the seats. Do solid color card stock tent cards that you can find on Etsy. That way you can designate a color that can be seen by waitstaff from a distance to differentiate each meal choice. They are much cheaper than a poster because you can fix any typos or move someone last minute with no issues where a poster will cost you full price each time you need to reprint. Arrange cards alphabetically on a table by the entrance (no signage is necessary) and guests can grab and go. The poster is often difficult to read in small illegible fonts, causing traffic jams and guests forget where they are seated.

View Quoted Comment

I already have the escort cards so anything new would be wasteful at this point. Fortunately the apps are within budget. We decided against a poster for the exact reasons you stated!

We decided to add prosciutto wrapped asparagus. We do have one person who can't have dairy but she won't be at the cocktail hour. However, it's still nice to have variety!

No, great idea!