Seating Chart

Escort cards, like the photo, are typically taken to the table by the guest so that they can mark their seat. If you're doing escort cards, you don't also need a seating chart.

I don’t think you need both a chart and name cards

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That's what I was thinking.. Maybe doing just the escort cards and putting a table number on it. Because I want them to know what table to sit at but they can pick which seat. And the escort cards would show if that seat is taken when they're up from the table.

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Yes, that's the purpose of escort cards, to tell people which table they're assigned to. It "escorts" them to their table.

We did escort cards that looked like hockey tickets. Each guest got their own rather than each couple since we wanted it to be like they were going to a game otherwise you normally do escort cards per couple. We displayed them on a table in the cocktail hour part of the venue. We displayed them in alphabetical order by last name.

Since our wedding had a baseball theme, DH created line-up cards for each table. The venue laminated them for us, and we displayed them on a cork board, for everyone to read.

Is there a way to relate your chart/cards to your theme or shared passions?

I prefer a chart!

However, if you’re using cards you don’t need to have both!

I actually did both since we didn’t have the space to set up a table for the escort cards. My reception was in a backyard with lots of nooks and crannies that the tables were in, so we had a seating chart in the cocktail hour area that let the guests know which table to look for. Then we had the escort cards on the tables already since they indicated the meal choice and let the guests know exactly where they were sitting. We combined the escort cards with the favors, which were little tin buckets with succulents in them.

We did a seating chart, written in old antique windows, like pictured below. I prefer a chart to escort cards because I did not want the cards cluttering up the table.

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I love that! My coworker has some old windows that we talked just yesterday about me potentially borrowing!!

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I don't think I want to tell them exactly where to sit at the table. Dinner is buffet style so they won't be served anything at the tables. I mostly wanted to give them escort cards as something to take home if they want. I love keeping little "souvenirs" from events. We won't be doing favors.

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Good to know! Thank you

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We don't have a theme. Just going for an elegant/rustic vibe.

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That's so cute!!

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This is what we're planning to do. I'm still trying to decide how I want to display the cards though. I need to play around with ideas.

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I'm thinking I'll do something like this except in a window frame or something and without the chicken wire. And each person can take it off the pin when they arrive and mark their seat with it. I'll probably have a groomsman stand there for the first bit so people know what to do.