Seating Chart/Escort Card Inspiration

Escort or not to Escort, that is the question…

Seating arrangements for your wedding, as tiring to plan as they are, will give your guests some direction

and allow for a much smoother transition from Cocktail hour to the formal dining.

While escort cards AND a seating chart together might be a little overkill, we cannot stress enough…

We strongly recommend that you have either one or the other for your wedding venue! 

You’ve had to plan all these tiny details and now the thought of going through your 100+ guest list and assign every person a table or seat.

We get it.

The task can seem daunting, but don’t be tempted to throw all caution to the wind, toss a big “Open Seating” sign out,

and pray to the wedding Gods that all will work itself out.

Because here’s what can happen if it doesn’t:

Best case scenario is that your guests decide to steal chairs and place settings from one table to another.

Not a big deal?

Well, each table, depending on the shape and size has an appropriate number limit so that everyone can sit and eat comfortably.

Now, everyone is knocking elbows and eating off each other’s plates.

Plus, what about the tables they took the settings and chairs from?

They’re sitting there like Swiss Cheese with big empty holes that stick out when looking at back at group pictures.

The dining space will seem patchy and threadbare, like moth-eaten cloth, and your photographer will have to avoid large whole-room shots.

Another sticky situation to consider is how people naturally tend to collect in Cliques.

Rarely will friends and family intermingle, choosing instead to socialize with those they are already familiar with.

Weddings are supposed to be about connecting and expanding relationships, not just bunching off into small groups like at a Holiday Office Party.

What happens if people who shouldn’t be socializing get matched at a table by accident or default?

Let’s pretend your beloved Excentric Aunt and Estranged Uncle, who are divorced and famous for their nuclear public blowouts, are now at neighboring tables.

Do not have faith that people will be polite on your behalf, wedding excitement brings out the best but also the worst in people.

So we implore you: Please do future-you a favor and plan those seating arrangements!

Your guests will appreciate it and you’ll avoid any awkward seating choices for guests to have to make, especially if they don’t know many people or come alone.

Here are some tips for the planning process:

• No Procrastinating: give yourself about three weeks to map everyone out so the project doesn’t get rushed and nobody gets forgotten.

• We suggest organizing and displaying guest’s names alphabetically for easy searching, since organizing people by their table may take longer to find.

• If your dinner is seated instead of buffet style, escort cards will help servers identify which guest gets each meal. (We’ve seen couples use these cards to directly indicate to the staff which protein each guest has through color coordination, small printed animal pictures, or even small decorations!)

• Make the task of displaying your cards or seating chart easy for whoever is assigned the task. (The easier it is the smaller the chance for a mistake!)

Follow these steps and the issues we mentioned won’t be a second thought, allowing you to truly enjoy your big day!

For extra help on wedding reception seating etiquette, check out this article by The Knot!

Thanks to all the photographers mentioned for their pictures of some fantastic seating arrangement examples!