The possibilities are endless when it comes to escort cards. I am sure you have all seen the stunning and gorgeous ideas on Pinterest, Martha Stewart, Wedluxe etc.
All I knew was that I wanted it to be gorgeous and at least a bit original (It was definitely not going to be just a list of names!)
When researching escort cards and boards, there are so many fantastic ideas, but when you think about them for a minute they might not be all that practical.
For example I have seen many set ups where the pretty cards are dangling from a decorated tree or other prop. When cards are in no particular order like this – chaos will ensue. If you have 100+ guests scrambling to find their card it will only delay them sitting down and thus delaying dinner being served.
So when it came to designing my escort cards and boards it not only needed to be laid out in an organized fashion, but of course also needed to include the look and style of the rest of the wedding.
As I have said many times, keeping the decor consistent ensures a theme, look and style that your guests will definitely pick up on. And making it yourself will certainly enhance that personal and unique feel all brides want for their wedding.
Here is the final design I came up with and how I did it:
I settled on two ornately framed, white bulletin boards (that I found at Homesense for $29.95 each!). They were perfect. Ornate enough that they looked French but compact enough that they would not look too huge on the table they would be sharing with a large centre piece.
I used the toile motif I purchased through Etsy (See “The Programs” blog) and printed it on cream cardstock for the background. These I pinned up with ornate, white, rose pushpins that I purchased from the shop “EnjoyEverydayGourmet” on Etsy.com.
White Rose Push Pins
I then used the same grey coloured, linen cardstock I used for the programs and cut out little ‘tag’ shapes.
I then printed labels on the same cream cardstock which had a simple border, the LADUREE font for the table name and a cursive font for the person’s name.
As an aside, our tables were not numbered. Instead (another personal touch) we named each table after a town in France that we visited (Stay tuned for my next blog on the “Table Name Signs”). This was so much more personal and added that extra little element for guests that made them go ‘WOW! They really thought of EVERYTHING!’
Then I used a fleur-de-lis punch (purchased at Michael’s) to punch out fleur-de-lis on the printed toile paper.
Fleur de Lis Punch
Finally I glued each rectangular ‘label’ and the fleur-de-lis on each ‘tag’
Escort Cards
Then in alphabetical order (by the guest’s last name not the table names) I arranged the ‘tags’ going left to right on each board.
Escort Cards
Guests were able to find which table they were sitting at in no time and it was a much prettier way of displaying this than just a simple list.
If you do your research you can get so much inspiration on how your escort cards could look like. Every aspect of your wedding should include a personal touch, and when you have loads of personal touches it tells your love story. I promise that in doing so your guests will feel so much more involved with you as a couple and will really feel like a part of your wedding.
