Wedding Stationery

Wedding Place Cards & Escort Cards: Formats, Etiquette and Ideas Guests Keep

By the StationeryWalaa Atelier TeamPublished June 22, 2026Updated June 22, 2026 4 min read

Die-cut floral hummingbird place card with guest name perched on a wine glass by StationeryWalaa

Quick Answer

Escort cards tell guests which table is theirs (displayed at the entrance, arranged alphabetically); place cards mark the exact seat at the table. Formats run from classic folded tents to die-cut sculptural designs — like hummingbird cards perched on wine glasses — that double as favours. Print them last (2–3 weeks out, after seating locks), order 10% spares, and write names exactly as guests are addressed at the wedding's formality level.

Escort cards vs place cards: who does what

The escort card meets guests at the reception entrance — name and table number, arranged alphabetically on a styled table or display wall. The place card waits at the seat itself, carrying just the name (and, for plated service, a discreet meal marker for the staff). Intimate dinners often need only place cards; weddings above ~120 guests flow dramatically better with both.

The escort display is also a design moment: cards pinned to a tapestry, hung from an olive tree, or — increasingly — die-cut pieces perched on a wall of wine glasses that guests carry to their tables. Logistics, theatre and favour in one gesture.

Formats: from folded tent to hummingbird on a glass

The format sets the table's character:

Place card formats compared
Format	Character	Notes
Folded tent	Classic, self-standing	Most legible across the table
Flat card + holder	Editorial, modern	Pairs with menu at each cover
Die-cut sculptural	Keepsake theatre	Birds, fruit, florals — perched on glasses
Combined menu-place card	One named card, two jobs	The favourite economy of day-of stationery
Object tags	Tied to favours or fruit	Destination & garden weddings

Naming etiquette and the timing that saves reprints

Name formality follows the wedding's register: full names with honourifics for formal ceremonies ('Dr. Meera Krishnan'), warm first-plus-surname for relaxed ones. The one absolute: spell every name correctly — confirm the list against RSVPs, not memory. For Indian weddings, elders' cards carry honourifics even when the wedding is otherwise informal.

Timing is the craft's mercy rule: design place cards with the suite, print them 2–3 weeks out after seating locks, and order 10% matching blanks for the guests who materialise in the final week. Variable-data printing makes 300 names as easy as 30 — there is no longer any reason for handwritten-in-panic cards at luxury weddings.

Key takeaways.

Escort cards assign tables at the entrance; place cards mark seats at the table — grand weddings use both.
Sculptural die-cuts (birds on glasses, fruit on plates) turn a logistics card into the favour guests pocket.
Print place cards LAST — 2–3 weeks out, after the seating chart truly locks.
Alphabetical order at the escort display, always — guests search by name, not table.
Order 10% blanks with the run for last-minute guests, in the same stock and style.

Frequently asked questions.

Escort cards, displayed alphabetically at the entrance, tell guests their table; place cards at each seat mark exactly where to sit. Larger weddings benefit from both; intimate dinners often need only place cards.

Two to three weeks before the wedding, after the seating chart locks — never earlier. Order about 10% matching blanks for late additions.

The best ones do — die-cut sculptural cards (hummingbirds on glasses, painted lemons carrying menus) are pocketed by guests almost universally. A place card that goes home did its job twice.

At the wedding's formality level, consistently, and verified against the RSVP list. Elders at Indian weddings carry honourifics regardless of the wedding's overall register.

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