Since I've been involved in the wedding industry, I continue to be amazed by the many creative ideas brides, grooms, and wedding professionals come up with. Early this year, while working on pictures for the new BRO Web site, I fell in love with the new, fresh design and ideas for using place cards and escort cards. In particular, the cute custom-designed cards of Vera and her company, Magnificent Moments, got me started on this article. Her place cards were fastened with clothespins on twine that wrapped around a tree trunk. The design included a cork attached to the card, which coordinated with the wine country theme and, at the same time, stabilized the paper. Now that I've been looking out for place card displays, I've found several different ideas. To my favorites also belong the cards from Bella Notte EventsThey are inserted in slits in bamboo stalks or extended on colorful ribbons from tree branches.

The card designs are as different as the various displays. I learned from Tosca, of Tosca's Productions, that the small picture frames, that serve as place cards and favors at the same time, are still very popular. Particularly in breezy outdoor conditions, the frame's weight helps the cards stay in place. Other long-time favorites are the luggage tags (as favors) on tables named after travel destinations. Our son and new daughter-in-law picked a similar theme; they assigned their friends and relatives to tables named for the cities where they first met. The pink and green luggage tags added color to the tabletop design. The display on the card resembled an airline ticket:
Passenger:
Destination:
Meal Choice:
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Combining place cards and favors together is very popular. Delicately wrapped chocolate bars or elegant boxes filled with truffles serve as perfect bases for attaching a place card. Our European event coordinator, Britta Maria Eugen, suggests using a small, sheer bag filled with candied almonds on which the name tag is attached with a ribbon. Please read: This Month's News Flash from Europe. Tosca's other place card/favor suggestion is CDs with the bride and groom's favorite music. One of her clients saved a bundle by using their wedding band's CD.

In all the examples I’ve written thus far, the table is assigned but the seat selection is up to the guests. If you want to assign seats Joyce Scardina Becker, the author of the guide Countdown to a Perfect Wedding, suggests using escort cards. Joyce mentions a situation in which the bride’s parents saw their assigned seats taken, and had to resort to chairs from which they could see only the backs of the newlyweds. Please read her article: Escort Your Guests With Style.


“Green” couples and wedding planners have sustainability and recycling written on their band wagon. The usual, more casual weddings don't need escort cards. Nelle Johnston of Zahzoom Weddings has used recycled glass tiles, acorns, and luggage tags made of recycled computer circuit board. All of the paper products her couples use are made of tree-free or recycled paper. Nik and Kristy, my older son and his wife, didn't even have place cards. They decorated the programs with the different table top displays in order to help the guests find their assigned tables. Their casual, sustainable wedding didn't require a rigid seating order; bride and groom wanted their guests to mingle, get to know each other, and party.
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