Day-of wedding stationery checklist
The invitations went out months ago. The day-of paper is a different list, and it is easy to forget a piece until the week of. Here is what most receptions need.
To find a table
A seating chart poster by the door lets guests scan for their name and table at a glance. One well-placed poster can replace a whole table of cards.
Escort cards do the same job in card form, laid out alphabetically at the entrance. Use one or the other, or both if your entrance has room.
To find a seat
Place cards mark each specific seat once a guest reaches the table. They are what make a plated dinner run, since the meal choice can print right on the card.
Table numbers or names tell everyone which table is which. Every reception with more than a few tables needs them.
The extras
Menus at each place are a nice touch for a plated dinner, though many couples skip them.
A welcome sign, a bar sign, or a program are optional. None of them are required for the seating to work.
What Seatwright prints
Seatwright makes the four that do the seating work: escort cards, place cards, table numbers, and the seating chart, all from one pasted guest list.
Menus, welcome signs, and programs are not part of the set, so plan those separately if you want them.
Related reading
Escort cards vs place cards
Two little cards, endlessly mixed up. They do different jobs, and knowing which is which saves you from printing the wrong thing.
How to make escort cards
Escort cards do one job: send each guest to the right table without a bottleneck at the door. Here is how to make a whole set at home without hand-lettering a hundred names.
How to make table numbers
Table numbers look like the easy part, right up until a guest is standing in the middle of the room squinting at a card the size of a business card. Here is how to make numbers people can actually find, and keep them in step with the rest of your plan.
Keep going
Seating chart
One poster by the door lets everyone find their seat at a glance. Seatwright lays out your whole list alphabetically with each guest's table beside the name.
Escort cards
Escort cards tell each guest which table to find. Seatwright sorts your whole list A to Z and lays it out as tent cards, so the entrance table stays easy to scan.
Place cards
Place cards sit at the seat itself. Seatwright groups your guests by table and prints one card each, with the meal choice underneath the name if you added one.
Table numbers
A table needs a number a guest can read from the door. Seatwright prints one foldable tent sign per table, large and centered, straight from the tables on your list.
Wedding
The seating took weeks. The paper should take an afternoon. Paste your final list and Seatwright lays out the whole day-of set at once.
Questions
What signs do you need for a wedding reception?
At minimum, table numbers and a way to find seats, either a seating chart poster or escort cards. Place cards are added when you assign specific seats. Welcome and bar signs are optional.
Do you need both a seating chart and escort cards?
No. Both send guests to their table, so most couples pick one. A large entrance can use both, but a single seating chart poster is usually enough.
Paste your list, see it laid out
When the plan is done, Seatwright turns your guest list into the whole day-of paper set in one pass.
Start freeFree to preview. One payment per event to print.