Our 10 favorite wedding place card ideas!

When I was growing up, my mom would make us formal dinners about once a month. She wanted us to know how to set a table, which silverware to use at which point in the meal, and generally how to be a good guest at a formal occasion. I love that she did this for us. And by the way, if you’re ever confused about the silverware part, just work from the outside to the inside (fake it til you make it, right 😉?)

One of my favorite things about these dinners was the place cards at each seat with our name on it. This was obviously before the days of Pinterest and social media, so the place cards were pretty simple with a lovely little silver holder. But today, the place card game has seriously evolved. And we LOVE it! I still like to use place cards when hosting my own dinner parties, but now the options for what to use are endless.

This got us thinking about how brides today are using place cards at weddings. Something about having a table filled with all of these unique place cards makes us so excited! We know that some people prefer an all-in-one seating chart, but that’s a different blog for a different day. Today is all about the place cards. We’ve rounded up our 10 favorite place card ideas for you – from inexpensive to pricier options that can double as favors. So let’s jump in!

1. Macaroons

Macaroons in individual boxes are such an adorable way to tell your guests where they will be sitting. Plus…free macaroons! #winning. The way that these are wrapped with the little pink ribbon and topped with the guest name and table number is so darling. This is a fantastic was to incorporate your wedding colors into this element of your wedding day.

 

2. Agate Slices

We love how these give off a natural vibe while still keeping it formal. The gold calligraphy lettering on these natural agate slices is so beautifully done. These can serve as beautiful paper weights for your guests to enjoy long after your wedding, because I promise you they don’t want something with your name and the date of your wedding on it. Sorry. We know that can be popular, but pretty much no one keeps those. Spend your money on something more personalized to them, not you! It’s your day, but this is their gift.

 

3. Luggage Tags

So, we LOVE this one. As mentioned above, people love getting useful things. And how useful is a luggage tag? I mean, we’ve all been in the line at check in frantically writing our contact information on one of those flimsy paper tags with the annoying rubber band, amiright? Having a durable luggage tag is such a great gift. Plus, hello? You have the perfect spot to customize with their name and table number – right on the tag. Genius.

 

4. Paper Cranes

Ancient Japanese tradition says folding 1000 paper cranes will make your wishes come true. Tradionally, one thousand paper cranes are given as a wedding gift, to wish a thousand years of happiness and prosperity for the couple. It is believed that cranes mate for life, working together to build their nest; this makes these the perfect symbol for a long and blissful life together. Hopefully you don’t have 1000 guests to fold for. Even if it’s 100 guests, that’s 100 happy years, right? I’d take that!

 

5. Leaves

This is such a simple, beautiful, and inexpensive way to let your guests know at which table they will be seated. We love how in this example they wrote the table numbers on the leaves and then tied them with a tiny ribbon to these adorable little tags with the guest name written in a soft blush ink color. You can even keep it more simple by writing the name and table number directly on the leaves and pinning the leaves directly to a board or spreading them out on a table. This is a great one because it can be beautiful and free! Who doesn’t love free when it comes to wedding expenses?

 

6. Stones

Again, playing off of the free ideas card, these smooth stones are also a simple and affordable way to direct your guests to their tables. These would be so great for an Up North Michigan wedding if you could use Petoskey stones! How gorgeous would those be? Stones are so versatile for display as well. We are loving them on the moss above, but you could do a million different things with these!

 

7. Mini Liquor Bottles

Alright. How adorable are these? What a fun way to get the party started! We love everything about this one. The mini bottles are so cute, the monogram (my motto: if it doesn’t move, monogram it), and sweet little labels tied with twine. All. the. boxes. are. checked. ✅ 🍾

 

8. Champagne Toast

This is the perfect way to celebrate with your champagne toast right away. Plus, instead of paying the wait staff to walk from table to table pouring champagne, they can just pour it into all the glasses in one spot, which should save you some money (who doesn’t want to do that?!) We love how pretty all of these champagne glasses look lined up perfectly with the place cards tucked into each one!

 

9. Succulents

These succulents are a sweet way to display your place cards. And why is #tinymetalbuckets not the hottest trending hashtag ever? Literally, I just want one of these for the bucket alone. These also serve as perfect low maintenance favors. Your guests will think of you and your special day weekly as they spritz a little water into their tiny metal buckets! And these are especially cool because of all the varieties of succulents you can use; just look at all those different little plants lined up!

 

10. Holiday Ornaments

This is our favorite. I love how these are little tokens that your guests can take home and use every year on their own Christmas trees. These are individual and beautiful and will remind your guests of your wedding day every Christmas when they decorate their tree! We especially love how they have displayed them here on white string lights, just the way they will look on a tree! This idea would be especially adorable for a winter, or especially, Christmas wedding.

 

So there you have it. Our favorite ten place card ideas. Perhaps one of these will suit your wedding perfectly? But these are just ten out of SO many ideas out there. Be sure to consider your wedding theme, colors, time of year, and how much you want to spend. As you can see, the sky is the limit for creativity and price. But don’t forget free is an option too. Have fun and let us know what you decide. Post your place card pics on social media and be sure to tag us @grandrapidsbride!

Happy Wedding Planning!

xoxo,