As you’re planning out your wedding stationery, don’t forget to purchase place cards. While place cards are optional, you’ll find they are a huge help as you try to organize seating at your reception and as you keep track of who is going to be attending your big event. Let me give you a few pointers.

Choosing Place Cards

Before we talk about how to make the most of those place cards, let’s talk a bit about how you’re going to choose yours. For starters, your place cards should match the rest of your wedding theme and the rest of your wedding stationery. They don’t have to be identical but they should have some features, maybe being decorated with the same flower or being the same color.

You’ll also need to pay close attention when you’re purchasing your place cards, particularly if you’re creating your own. Some blank place cards are not designed to be used in a printer so you (or your calligrapher) need to handwrite the names on those cards. The sweet pea pearlescent and the midnight deckle edge are perfect examples. The three gold foil or pink rose petal varieties, however, can be used in printers easily.

Using the Place Cards for Organization

If you want to keep a running total of everyone who has responded and plans to attend your wedding, then simply create their place cards as soon as you get back their RSVP card. Not only will this method be a good way of keeping track, but you’ll also be saving yourself time by not waiting until all of the responses are received to create your place cards.

Once created, you can use the place cards as a way to organize seating arrangements. For example, let’s say you can seat 8 people to a table. Using the place cards, you can create piles of eight names of people who can be placed together at a able. In this way, you can already have some idea of whom you want with whom before you start working on an official seating chart.

The place cards are also helpful for guests. After all, you want them to easily be able to find their seats. Place cards also give guests a small souvenir from the wedding if they want one. And, of course, if a couple of your guests hit it off they can always exchange place cards so they can stay in touch.

The bottom line: Leave some room in the budget for place cards. They may be optional, but they are worth the investment.

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