Hey Beautiful Readers!
I'm back with more inspirational fun- My Pinterest - Part 3, Place Cards/meal indicators. Last week I spent a ton of time discussing the in-between and transition moments that are impactful in planning an enjoyable wedding. If you missed it, be sure to check it out here https://www.thecalmbride.com/post/the-transition-periods
One moment in particular we talked about was guests making their way from cocktail hour to their reception table, and a few things will be at play here. They may be trying to put eyes on the seating chart, grabbing a place card if they haven’t already, and ultimately finding their seat to prepare for entrances.
Assigned seats are a really effective way to make that transition easier. This will generally mean you have a seating chart telling people their table number, and a separate place card at their table indicating which seat they should sit in. The sooner people are in their seats the quicker the reception can begin. Once entrances and any other pre dinner events have concluded, dinner service will begin. If you are having a plated dinner those place cards are extra important as they generally serve as the indication to the catering staff of what meal each guest is eating. Are you noticing their two fold importance yet?
Lets say you’re having a plated dinner and don’t want to assign specific seats or maybe you’re offering a buffet for dinner and don’t feel it necessary, especially because you don’t have a meal to indicate. There are options for you too! As a rule of thumb, if you offer a buffet and don’t foresee your guests having any issue picking their own seats at the table, you can probably avoid this altogether. If you want to use traditional place cards as a seating indication for table numbers, that would be the extent to which this topic was relevant to you.
For those of you that this is relevant to: plated dinners, just couples that feel more comfortable assigning seats, couples with a variety of dinner options, and more - here are a few creative ways to indicate seats and meal selections to both your
guests and the catering staff during your wedding:
The first option is a timeless classic; Place Cards can be utilized as a seating chart where guests grab their name and take it to their seats, where seats are then unassigned and up for guests to choose. You can also assign seats by leaving these place cards at the table which will indicate to guests where they sit, but also that little icon on the bottom corner indicates to the catering / service staff what meal that guest has chosen. Always be careful leaving this in the guests hands to grab and bring to the table as someone will inevitably forget or lose it during cocktail hour. If this is your only indication to servers what the meal choice is, it may be smarter to already have it at the seat or at least on the table.
That brings me to number 2; COLORS! I just recently executed this for a wedding
of 210 guests, so you can guess it was no small feat. My couple did not want to assign seats, but for a plated meal of this many people, driving efficiency for the service staff was key. With that being said we used solid colored place cards - white, black and green - to indicate which of the three meal choices each guest was eating. We set these out on each table in a neatly organized fashion and guests were able to choose their seats and then grab their name tag upon entering the reception and finding their seat. You can do this exact concept with any type of place card / meal indicator - it is obviously not specific to place cards.
The third option is a personal favorite; I'll admit I'm a bit biased as this is what I
used personally for our wedding; the acrylic name, with or without a meal indicator. For those buffet couples that still want to assign seats, an acrylic name at each seat is a personal touch, and guests keep these more often than some cardstock paper. Additionally, shops on Etsy and Pinterest offer acrylic names with a meal indicator attached, or even a separate meal indicator piece (see below). These are keepsakes for some and not overly pricey if you find the right vendor! These are generally very clear and easy to see for the service staff, and guests are unlikely to lose or misplace them as they’re already waiting at their seat.
This is one I haven’t personally come across but that is one of the things I love most about diving into pinterest rabbit holes. This option is a color indicator on a menu. This can of course be done a vast variety of ways- maybe as indicated here with a different colored emblem / sticker; maybe the menu itself is a different color, maybe the menu only indicates the meal that guest chose. There is a ton of creative freedom that can be applied to all of these, but especially here. I am not always a fan of a menu, but this is an excellent multi-purposed use for them!
Next up is a gorgeous addition to your table scape, but it does require some logistical considerations. If you’re going to do a drink tag keep a few things in mind: this will require you to order a glass of champagne or drink to be pre-placed for every guest and you will probably have to account for some people taking it off of the glass and setting it to the side if they get eager to take a sip. In this scenario, your service staff may have to ask the guest to clarify if they can’t see it but that can honestly happen in any of the above stated cases as well, so it’s just something to keep in mind. This is another great way to add personalization and possibly color coordinate or put a symbol on the tag as a meal indicator if you’re doing a plated dinner.
The last are bundled into one category because it is truly such an open canvas. Here you’ll see two pictures utilizing flowers in different ways as a part of the name / place card. The first (right), with the small bouquet of baby's breath pinned to the side is an absolute favorite of mine. This was something a previous bride of mine considered doing and we were actually going to utilize 3 different mini florals to serve as our meal indicator. In the other photo (below) you’ll see two different colored fake or paper florals accompanying the name / place card. Both of these are exceptional ways to add a bit of color or mirror your floral decor in the minor details of wedding day; but it is also a clear and creative way to provide a meal indication to the service staff.
I am sure most of you have picked up on the pattern in all of these options - you can do them all the same, or you can create small but noticeable differences to serve as a meal indication if that aligns with the type of dinner service you are offering your guests. Additionally, we can’t account for human error - so if you’re sitting there wracking your brain about what to do if 1-2 guests misplace their card, set it to the side or accidentally drop it under the table without noticing - don’t stress. Your catering staff should have a pre-set list indicating how many of each meal goes to each table - so its process of elimination at that point when they arrive with the tray of plates.
Creating a seating chart is no easy feat, and assigning seats of course takes it to the next level. It does however provide a more efficient transition period, and speeds up the dinner service process for catering to get to the part we really all care about; the dancing!
What are some things you yourself have done as a bride for place cards or meal indications? Or what have you seen other couples do? I would love to hear from my readers and add to my pinterest collection some new and fun ideas!
Summer is off season in Florida which means less weddings, more blogs and more planning for a packed fall! Be sure to follow along via instagram as well for the corresponding reel that aligns with this pinterest highlight, and be sure to continue reading along for wedding day insight to craft the perfect and most enjoyable wedding day for both you and your guests.
Xoxo,
Alyssa
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