Seating Charts or Escort Cards??

I did escort cards and prefer them. At all the weddings I've been to, there is usually more of a shuffle to crowd around the seating chart rather than walking to a table, picking up the card with your name and reading the table number as you walk away. Plus, they can be useful to "claim" your seat at the table once you get there if you want to step away to use the restroom or get a drink.

It really depends. If you’re planning on having multiple choices of served dinner(like chicken, fish, or steak), I would do escort cards with the guests meal choice so servers know who is getting what. But if you’re doing a buffet or single meal choice, a seating chart would work. Also, I feel if you are planning on having more than 150-200 guests then escort cards are better. I personally prefer the cards.

We did seating chart and put it next to the bar so people could find their seats and get a drink in one place. We did assign exact seats and not just tables so their was a place card with their name on it that also served as a meal indicator.


We did have a fairly large double-sided bar so it wasn’t very crowded.

We did escort cards since we had a plated meal and needed to indicate meal choice.

Escort cards all the way. You prevent a traffic jam of people finding their names on a chart that you typically have to be pretty close to to read. Then pray you don't forget which table while you get chatting with someone on the way. With cards, you see your name, grab the card and can refer to where you need to go with zero traffic.

Also some couples color code the escort cards for a plated meal to let waiters know which entrees are picked

View Quoted Comment Thanks Hannah! I guess it’s also good way to track who sent back their RSVP and didn’t show up.

View Quoted Comment That makes sense...my guest list at at 170 so escort cards seems to be the best option. Thanks!

View Quoted Comment Haha! Jana that is so true! I would definitely be the one to forget the table number! And I’m sure some guests would hold up the line by pulling out their reading glasses to see the chart. Thanks for your input!

I like seating charts for large amounts of people

We did escort cards. Ours looked like hockey tickets as my husband is a huge hockey fan. We had card for each person rather than a couple since tickets to a game are per person so we wanted it to seem authentic. I have seen escort cards with each couple's name or individually. Our venue recommended that we put them in alphabetical order by last name so that guests could easily find their card. That is honestly the easiest way to organize them.

Escort cards all the way!

View Quoted Comment That’s so creative! I love the personal touch to make it your own!

We did a seating chart, and there didn't seem to be any problems with it. It also depends on how large your crowd is. If you have too many people, escort cards may be the better choice, or more than one seating chart.

We are using escort cards since we are having a plated meal and I also love the idea of allowing people to chose their seats and claim them without having to leave a purse or valuable object behind to head to the restroom or bar. Our escort cards are being designed by our stationary company and will have the same meal choice symbol as what was on our RSVP card. We are giving an RSVP card to our wedding planner who will give it to the catering staff so they are familiar with/have a point of reference to the symbols as well.

View Quoted Comment Oh wow! Your cards are pretty detailed but make so much sense!

I think it will depend if you're having a plated meal that guests will have to pre-select when they RSVP. We had no choice but to do escort cards, because guests had to select their meal choice during RSVP, and we needed to indicate the meal choice on the back of the escort card itself for the caterers. If you're not having pre-selected meal choices, then you could go either way. I prefer escort cards because like other PPs have said, then I can 'claim' my seat at the table without having to worry about leaving my purse.

I'm doing a seating chart board but there will be two. One on main table and one by bar. Bar will be open during cocktail hour so that will help with line. Get your drink and see what table you are going to be at.