Understandably, the terms accompanying card and place card can get a bit confused. Most tend to mistakenly use these terms interchangeably. Let’s face it, newly engaged couples have a lot to learn about wedding planning in a short window of time. You won’t know the ins and outs of a wedding planner wedding blogger or an invitation expert – after all, they’ve gathered their knowledge from years of experience.

Let me help you break down the differences to help you decide which one to use – escort or place cards for your big event. Escort cards are what you’ve seen a lot lately at more informal or modern weddings. These are cards that usually contain a name and table number. They are usually placed in the entrance area in alphabetical order and indicate their seating arrangements to the guests. The difference between place card and companion card is that a companion accompanies a guest from one place to another.

Assignment at a specific table

A seat card specifies the seat assignment at a specific table. They are usually found in formal or black tie affairs. There is usually a large seating plan that includes a table number. Often there is one person who greets guests at the event and then tells them their table. Once each person has found their table, they will find their name (not a number) on a place card. In many cases, both an escort card and a place card are used for these formal events. This sitting is time consuming as the couple is thoughtful about where and with whom each person will be sitting.

Today, most couples have found creative ways to incorporate both their personalities and their thematic approaches to presenting their escort cards, not to mention their table identification. For example, you might see couples naming a table instead of giving it a number, avoiding any intended or unintended numerical hierarchy in seat or table placement.

A wedding I attended that had a creative table name was to a friend who is a writer and the groom who is a literature professor. They chose to name each table with a title from an iconic classic novel. Labeling tables as “Pride & Prejudice”, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” or “Tale of Two Cities” provided a unique way to showcase their personalities and was sure to spark İzmir Escort conversation at the tables. They put the titles of each table in stands that sat on small stacks of books. They looked lovely along with the centerpieces. Bookmarks served as party favors – with a thank you on one side and a quote from a famous poet on the other.

Wedding Advice

During my wedding counseling, I worked with a couple who were avid travelers. We used this love of seeing the world as a thematic approach to the wedding. We created tables named after the destinations they traveled together. Along with the name, we’ve included a photo of them in the different locations, along with a short story about each location. Some were more exciting locations than others – Machu Picchu vs. Milwaukee – but both show guests a brief history of the different locations they visited and learn even more about the couple.

To identify the meal choices on the accompanying cards – so caterers understand the meal choices – we used landscape themed rubber stamps to make each card stand out. For example, waves stamped in blue ink meant fish, trees in green ink meant chicken, and mountains in walnut ink meant beef. The variety looked great when all lined up alphabetically and made the waiters’ job easier at the table by serving the correct food to the guests.