Reception Seating Options

I'm very much a fan of having assigned seating at a large wedding, as I'm sure most event planners are. It curtails a great deal of confusion and awkwardness felt by the guests. I've been a guest at a wedding that was sans assigned seating, and I saw tables that were half full and tables that people had pulled chairs up to. It was indeed uncomfortable and a mess.
So, to prevent confusion of the masses, we have escort cards, place cards, and seating chart displays.

Escort cards are usually found in the entrance area of the reception, with the guest's name and assigned table number (or table name). They can be displayed in a plethora of different and innovative ways.

*Via A Lucky Orchid Wedding, calligraphy by Laura Hooper

*TheKnot

*Table 6 Productions

*TheKnot

*TheKnot

*From TheKnot

*Via Black*Eiffel

Place cards are similar to escort cards, but they are set at the precise place the guest is assigned to. These are commonly used along with escort cards or a seating chart display. When there is a meal option, place cards play a very important role in helping the servers when they serve the meals.

*Smock Paper

*Oh So Beautiful Paper

*Via Country Living


*USA Pears

The seating chart display is my personal favorite. It plays the same role as escort cards, but there is not a tangible object for guests to carry with them. The only drawback is that guests must remember what table they are seated at. It is usually the best idea to display the seating charts right outside of the entrance to where the reception seating is. This option for seating is very economical but can be beautiful as well. Personally, I had a difficult time finding a designer to make my seating chart for me, so I ended up making it on my own. However, seating chart displays are new to the wedding scene, so I hope more designers will be adding them to their repertoire!

*Via Gourmet Invitations

*Via Gourmet Invitations


*Via author's personal collection

And I must confess, this seating chart was one of my absolute favorite elements of the wedding. I actually have it hanging on the wall in our study now, despite my husband's protests. I am in love with it.

(It actually matches perfectly with the window treatments in our study.)

For more information on seating options, Monica of The White Box of Wedding Design has a wonderful post describing all of the options in detail.

I hope these seating options were helpful! Personally, I think the most difficult part of the wedding was assigning seats, but it was also one of the most enjoyable things! Which seating option are you planning on using in your wedding?