Escort cards vs place cards
They sound alike and do different jobs. Here is what each one is for, and how to decide whether you need one, the other, or both.
Escort cards tell guests where their table is
An escort card carries a guest's name and their table number. They are laid out alphabetically near the entrance to the reception, and each guest picks theirs up on the way in. Couples and families often share one card: "Mr and Mrs Bennett — Table 4".
Place cards mark the exact seat
A place card sits on the table at a specific chair: a folded tent card, a small flat card on the plate, or a tag on a favour. Guests use their escort card to find the table and the place card to find the chair.
Do you need both?
- Escort cards only — guests are assigned a table but choose their own seat. The most common choice, and the easiest.
- Place cards only — works when a seating chart poster already tells guests their table, or for a small dinner with one long table.
- Both — for a formal dinner, a plated meal where the caterer needs to know who ordered what, or tables where seating order matters.
A seating chart poster can replace escort cards altogether: one board, every name sorted alphabetically with a table number. It is cheaper, faster to produce, and guests find themselves just as quickly.
How many to print
One of each per guest, plus a few spares. Tent place cards usually print four to a sheet of card stock, and flat escort cards ten to a sheet — so 120 guests is 30 sheets of place cards and 12 of escort cards. The guest-count pages work this out for your number.
The meal mark
For a plated dinner, add a small mark for each guest's meal on the place card — an initial in a circle, or a coloured dot. Servers can then set the right plate without asking. Wedding Charts prints this mark automatically from the meal you set for each guest.
More guides
Put it into practice
Wedding Charts lays out your room, seats households together, keeps the people who shouldn't meet apart, and prints the poster and cards.
Start your seating chartFree in your browser: one chart, up to 50 guests. No card.
Questions
Are escort cards and place cards the same thing?
No. Escort cards tell a guest which table they are at and are picked up at the entrance. Place cards sit on the table and mark the exact seat.
Can a seating chart replace escort cards?
Yes. A seating chart poster sorted alphabetically by surname, with a table next to each name, does the same job as escort cards on a single board.
Do place cards go on the left or right?
Place cards go above the plate, centred, or on top of a folded napkin. Tent cards stand above the plate; flat cards lie on the napkin or charger.