As you tick all the boxes on your wedding reception checklist—dinner options, seating chart, wedding reception entertainment and more—there’s one small detail that ensures the day runs smoothly. Place cards help guests transition from the cocktail hour to their dinner seats without confusion. When used as escort cards, guests find their name and table number on a card lined up outside the reception hall to “escort” them to their seats. Otherwise, guests simply head to their assigned table and find their names on a place card when they arrive. No matter what level of formality you choose, peruse this collection of place card ideas that match every wedding style to complete your tablescape.
1. Glass Block Photos
Source: Shutterfly
Include a personalized photo of you and your spouse or of the guest themselves. Imprint a name across the front of the image for guests to find their seat and table home as a personal thank you gift.
2. Tropical Blooms
Source: Jamie Vinson
Throwing a destination wedding? Create a small space in each paper name card to tuck a small flower for each guest’s hat, hair or lapel. Nestle each place card in a container of sand to display.
3. Dress The Bar
Source: Shutterfly
Utilize the champagne or wine station during your cocktail hour by pairing each with name and table place cards. Include personalized wine glasses for guests to reuse and take home at the end of the evening.
4. Shots All Around
Source: Anna Gomes Photo
Kick off the party by working your seating cards into a shot glass filled with your favorite spirit. Hold the small label in place by attaching it to the end of a toothpick and balancing in the center of a lime.
5. Matching Table Numbers
Source: Shutterfly
After going to all the work of creating a seating chart and telling guests where to sit, be sure to clearly mark your tables. These printable table numbers add bold color to a range of centerpiece styles.
6. Fresh Display
Source: Michelle Ramirez Photography
Weave berries and fresh fruits throughout your wedding decor, even on the welcome plate at your guest’s dinner spot. Prop up your place card with fruit and your wedding flowers to wow them at their arrival.
7. Pair With The Menu
Source: Shutterfly
Your dinner menu is an additional piece of stationery to keep in mind as you pursue your wedding place card ideas. Match or complement the style, font and colors to your menu in your place cards for a uniform appearance. Plus, coordinate with your centerpieces for a cohesive look.
8. Sweet As Honey
Source: Nichols Photographers
Support a local apiary near your home or venue by using small jars of fresh honey for your wedding place cards. Add the names and table numbers across a stick-on label and display on a shelf or table.
9. Mini Planters
Source: Shutterfly
Direct your guests to their dinner spot with a small personalized planter they can take home after the celebration. Include a name or set of initials on the front of the planter and include flowers or succulents for the guests to watch grow.
10. Menu Display
Source: Jennings King Photography
Tuck all the necessary dinner info into a band of paper that conveniently communicates where each guest should sit. Match the name’s font up with your wedding stationery.
11. Lovely In Lace
Source: Haley Photography
Incorporate lace into the escort card display by attaching each handwritten place card to a lace ribbon. Display above a table with instructions on how to find your seat.
12. Gift Box Place Card
Source: Charity Maurer
If you’re looking for a fun way to give your guests thank you presents, pop them in a small gift box and add the name and table number to a small round label on top.
13. Solid Script
Source: Brianna Broyles
Hire an artisan to craft each guest’s name from plastic or wood in a graceful cursive font. Simply place them right on the setting and surround with the napkin, flowers and any other personal touches.
14. Stayin’ Cool
Source: Jodee Debes
If you’re throwing a beachside or outdoor soiree, gift each guest with a matching pair of sunglasses while they look for their dinner seat. The glasses make for excellent group photo opportunities.
15. Bohemian Flair
Source: Irene Yap
This natural wedding incorporated tan and brown feathers into their name cards. Display on a table of name cards in alphabetical order for easy location and set around matching tea lights.
16. Luggage Tags
Source: Debbie Lourens
Celebrate a destination wedding theme with personalized leather travel tags. Include the guest’s name with a personalized message. Be sure to choose a tag that blends with your tablescape color scheme.
17. Bottoms Up
Source: Holly Cade
Support a local distillery by creating place cards from a small bottle of whiskey. Attach a ribbon and name card to the top with information about the spirit inside.
18. Keep It Playful
Source: Leah Lombardi
If you’re throwing a fun and playful wedding, weave you and your spouse’s favorite things into the wedding design. Include toys and action figures to hold up your name cards. This is also a fun touch at the kids wedding table.
19. Mini Mason Jars
Source: The Oberports
These adorable little mason jars also make excellent place cards. Add a small patch of chalkboard paint to the front of each to add a guest’s name and number. Fill with your favorite whiskey or rum.
20. Garden Of Guests
Source: Jordan Voth
Nestle your name cards into a palette of sand and soil as if they’d just popped up from the ground. Include succulents and other easily plantable blooms around the cards for a garden theme.
21. Painted Palette
Source: Emily Steffan
Celebrate your artistic sides by transforming paint brushes into a place card display. Dip each brush in a different color of paint and let dry before adding the guest’s name on the handle.
22. Personalized Polaroid
Source: Bloom Weddings
Do you have a fun image of each of your guests? Surprise them with your favorite photo as a fun wedding table reception idea. Layer with the wedding menu and flair of decor.
23. Nature’s Beauty
Source: Breeze Photography
Take an organic approach with a wedding steeped in green by handwriting the guest’s name on a stone with a marker. Set it delicately on a fern leaf or other available greenery.
24. First Place Ribbon
Source: Chrisman Studios
Celebrate an equestrian-themed wedding by awarding each guest with a ribbon of their own with their table number. Add a special award title to the ribbon for a personalized touch.
25. A City Wedding
Source: Tessa Lyn Events
If you’re honoring your love of The Big Apple in an NYC wedding, secure a small photo holder to the tops of miniature yellow cabs for an iconic design.
26. Rustic Simplicity
Source: Kit Meyers
Keep the carved name tags small and simple when working with a basic color palette. No need to include the plate in the table layout. Place the carved place marker right on the napkin.
27. Mason Jar Cards
Source: Personal Expressions
Mason jar crafts hold endless possibilities, especially in whimsical and rustic wedding themes. Add names and table numbers to a mason-jar-shaped card on brown craft paper and hang on twine to display.
28. Clear Name Plates
Source: Kayla Fisher Photography
Minimalist design allows you to adapt to any place setting around your card. Write the guest’s name on a piece of clear glass or plastic and surround it with decor or your wedding favors.
29. Jellies And Jams
Source: Kaitie Brainerd
For a rustic garden wedding, jar your own jellies or jams and cover the lids with floral fabric. Add a small note on each jar with the guest’s name and table number, then display as place or escort cards.
30. Tell Your Story
Source: Tell Your Story
Weave the rich blues and other jewel tones into your tablescape by writing each guest’s name on a slice of agate stone. Match your font to your wedding stationary used throughout the planning process.
31. Cascading Hearts
Source: Daniel Kincaid Photography
Looking for unique place card display ideas? Hang them from an overhead floral display with an easy-to-reach clasp so guests can find their name and head to dinner.
32. Start With A Toast
Source: Dear Wesleyann
Get ready for the wedding toasts by sending the guests into the dining room with a glass of champagne of their own. Delicately hook the label around the lip of each glass with names and table numbers.
33. Paired With A Favor
Source: Masha Unwerth
No need to create anything too complex for a natural-styled wedding. If you’re including small favors at each place setting, pop a colored piece of paper beneath each with a handwritten name.
34. Layer With Flowers
Source: Jennifer Fujikawa Photography
For three-dimensional place cards like these, layer each name on the plate with loose flowers and greens. This ties the look together with the centerpiece and surrounding decor.
35. Winter Details
Source: Sarah Vaughn Photography
If you’re cozying up for a winter gathering, simply attach a small name card to a pine tree trimming. Place at the seat of each guest before the group enters the main hall for dinner.
36. Going On An Adventure
Source: Nikki Kirk
For the wedding that takes guests around the world, create a travel-themed place card display. Add a sign that reads, “Where in the world am I sitting?” and hand out tickets that send guests to the table named after their destination.
37. Ombre Display
Source: LB Event Planning
If you’re displaying your place cards on an escort board or table, fade the colors of the envelopes from pale to dark. Include a note inside each envelope with table number information to carry to dinner.
38. Leather Swatches
No need for place cards to be uniform and symmetrical. Add names to unique swatches of fabric and leather and place on each plate in a wedding with a modern theme.
39. Gold-Leafed Linen
Source: MK Sadler
Add a touch of painted gold-leaf to a small swatch of plain linen. Handwrite each name on the fabric and lay out above the place settings.
40. Falling Leaves
Source: David Edmonson
Create the ethereal look of a forest by attaching paper leaf place cards onto ribbon that matches your flower colors. Hang from a tall arrangement and allow the guests to sort through their names during cocktail hour.
41. Nice And Natural
Source: Lisa Marie Halliday
Slip a dried flower stem through a thin flag of a recycled paper to create eco-friendly place cards. Stamp each guest’s name on to the flag and display at their dinner spot.
42. Cascade Of Coasters
Source: Jordan Weiland
Combine your place cards, wedding favors and a beautiful hanging display by connecting squares of wood to a long ribbon. Connect to a vertical flower arrangement for guests to peruse as they sip cocktails.
43. Glass Coasters
Source: Danijela Weddings
Clear glass coasters also provide an elegant palette for writing guest names on their place settings. Select plain glass or those that incorporate pressed flowers to match your wedding colors.
44. Golden Pastels
Source: Absolutely Loved
Blend the pastel colors of a spring wedding on a paper tent place card speckled with gold leaf paint. Transfer your wedding invitation fonts onto the name cards for a uniform look.
45. Classic Wood Slice
Source: Jessie Schultz
For rustic outdoor or barn weddings, etch each guest’s name into a small slice of wood and place at the center of each plate. Weave the wood slice decor throughout the wedding decor for a unified theme.
46. DIY Floral Cards
Source: Bespoke Bride
Shape and paint homemade concrete squares to balance these miniature vases and place setting cards. Add a thin test tube, a bit of water and a single rose of your choice to match your wedding theme.
47. Curtain Up
Source: MTC Photography
Theater and movie lovers can base their place card ideas off of a ticket to the main event. Include the table number, name and “price” of admission as guests enter your wedding reception.
48. S’more Fun
Source: Pravada Photography
Wrap up individual s’mores with the name and table numbers for each guest so they’re ready for the post-reception bonfire. Include your wedding color combinations on the tag and wrap a ribbon around the bag of treats.
49. Marbleized Coaster
Source: Green Wedding Shoes
DIY your own place cards and wedding favor ideas with octagonal wooden coasters. Create the marbled design with two tones of paint and add an easy-to-remove name card so guests can take the coasters home.
50. Family Spirits
Source: Ellie Grace
Include a bit of an infused spirit in a small glass bottle labeled with your guest’s name and table number. Pop each on the place setting or display on a place card table in alphabetical order.
51. Painted Pumpkins
Source: J Anne Photography
If you’re planning a pale autumnal display for a fall wedding, include small white pumpkins on the center of each place setting with an attached paper and twine nametag.
52. Dipped In Glitter
Source: Angie Capri
Blend your place cards with wedding favors by decorating a small paper bag for each place setting with a colorblock of glitter. Clip the guest’s name at the top of the bag to help them find their seat.
53. Message In A Bottle
Source: Off Beet Productions
Like a love note washed up on shore, tuck a piece of paper with each table number display in a small corked bottle. Place each bottle in a tray of sand and line up by name.
54. Citrus Tablescape
Source: Everence Photography
For a fresh spring or summer wedding, work bits of citrus into your table, including as a place card idea. Secure the guest’s name with a small swatch of paper to the top of a tangerine.
55. Garden Stone
Source: Olivia Markle
Personalize a small white stone with each person’s name to delicately place on each plate. Guests can take their name stone homes with them as decorative paperweights.
56. Delicate Edges
Source: This Love of Yours
Choose frayed paper edges for your stationery for a graceful design. This look pairs well with a delicate wedding color scheme like creams, pinks and pale earth tones.
57. Flowers And Twine
Source: Nick Walker Photography
Use a small piece of rustic twine to connect your place card to the set of silverware on each guest’s plate. Add a floral watercolor place card imbued with the same colors as the centerpiece.
Keep your wedding theme in mind when choosing from all the available place card ideas. If you’re taking a DIY approach to your wedding, for example—from everything like centerpieces to engagement photo props—align your table card design with the same style you’ve used throughout the big day. Place cards may be a small detail, but they play a large role in making your reception run smoothly.
