8 creative ways to display your wedding menus & place cards

Are you having a seated wedding reception?

Have you thought about the stationery you may need or want for each of the guest tables?

Below I have listed 8 creative ways you can display menus and place cards on your guest tables at your reception, along with the pros and cons for each.​

1. Individual Menus for each guest

Pros

• Everyone has their own menu and can view what they are eating and drinking at their leisure throughout the evening
• There is an element of luxury when each guest has their own menu to view
• Each menu can be tucked into the napkin or styled with the place setting to create a beautiful tablescape
• They can be made to match your invitations providing continuity for the guests

Cons

• It is another item to add to each place setting
• A per guest cost will need to be factored into your budget

2. Tri Fold Menus / Table Numbers

Pros

• You only need 1-2 per table which saves spaces on each table for the table ware, floral and other stationery you may have
• It is cost effective as you don't need to supply a menu to each guest
• They also act as your table number
• They can be made to match your invitations & stationery suite

Cons 

• Not everyone will have their own menu
• Guests will need to wait until another guest has finished looking, before they can see what they will be eating & drinking for the evening 

3. Separate Place Cards

Pros

• Each person has an allocated seat. Guests like to know exactly where they are sitting. They are used in conjunction with a seating chart at the entrance of your reception telling each guest which table they are sitting on.
• They avoid social anxiety for your guests knowing they don't have to figure out where to sit and fearing that they will sit in the wrong seat
• They assure that your closest family members are on a table close to the bridal table
• They provide a better experience for your guests as it guarantees older guests are kept away from loud speakers and small children are positioned in an area that won't be in the way of caterers serving food and drink or high-traffic zones.
• They help catering teams know who to provide diet sensitive meals too (based on a list you provide before the wedding)
• Each guest has a token they can take home with them that has their name on it
• They can be designed in the colour theme of your wedding, adding to your overall reception style.
• Provides a formal experience for your guests

Cons

• It can take up space at each place setting
• Guests may not like where they are placed. Unfortunately this may be unavoidable when you are trying to allocate seats for your entire wedding in an order of who is closest to you

4. Individual Menus with guest names included

Pros 

• By combining the menu and place card options, this will save on space at each place setting
• Everyone has their own menu and they can view what they are going to eat and drink at their leisure throughout the evening
• There is an element of luxury when each guest has their own menu to view with their name on it.
• Each menu can be tucked into the napkin creating a beautiful tablescape
• They can be made to match your invitations & stationery suite
• Each person has an allocated seat. Guests like to know exactly where they are sitting.
• Each guest has a token they can take home with them that has their name on it 

Cons

It can be hard for catering teams who are serving diet sensitive meals to guests as they are unable to see the names of each guest on the menus. Guests generally tuck each menu under a plate, handbag or elsewhere once they are seated.

5. Venue supplied menus

Pros

• There is no additional cost to you
• Guests are informed what they will be eating and drinking at the reception

Cons

• Generally only 1-2 are provided per table, not per guest
• They don't match your other stationery or theme for your wedding
• Each venue is different, please check with them first before you presume they will have these in place for you.

6. Open seating

Pros

• There are no costs required with place cards or escort cards stationery
• You don’t have to worry about dealing with the task or allocating all of your guests to seats and creating a seating chart.

Cons

• This may cause social anxiety for guests when trying to find a spot to sit at
• It makes it extremely difficult for the catering team to know who has a specific dietary requirement because they wont know where a specific guest is sitting
• There may be situations where there are not enough seats at a table for everyone who wants to sit together
• There may be single seats left vacant at tables because a single person does not want to sit with a group of people they don't know (you will need to have a few additional seats/tables to accommodate an overspill due to relaxed seating).

7. Escort Cards (used in conjunction with a seating chart)

Pros

• You only need to allocate your guests to a table, not to a seat

Cons

• You will still need to do a seating chart which include removal cards or items with your guest names and their table number
• This may cause social anxiety for guests when trying to find a spot to sit at each table
• It makes it a little difficult for the catering team to know who has a specific dietary requirement
• Less formal than place cards

8. Guest Favours with personalised guest tags

Pros

• By combining the guest favour and place card options, this will save on space at each place setting
• Each person has an allocated seat. Guests like to know exactly where they are sitting.
• Each guest has a token they can take home with them that has their name on it.
• You can also add a thank you message on the tag

Cons

• It can be hard for catering teams who are serving diet sensitive meals to guests as they are unable to see the names of each guest on the tags.

Hopefully this will help you decide what stationery you will need for your wedding guest tables and by using the pros and cons for each item be able to see what is really important and necessary for you.

Comment below if you have any other ways you can use menu & guest placement stationery or better yet, let us know what combination of stationery you had for your own wedding.

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