escort cards & place cards...what's the difference?

Escort Cards-  These are on display near the front entrance of your event to guide or "escort" your guests to their seat.  Traditionally, they show the person's name and table number.  It is convenient to display them alphabetically so it is easy for your guests to find theirs.

Place Cards-  The guests find their table by a large number displayed centrally on each table.  Therefore, only the guest's name needs to be on the place card located at each place setting.

In my experience with events, the traditional escort cards and place cards tend to be a bit redundant and quite formal.  What typically happens is, guests don't always put the escort card in their pocket or purse but rather on the table.  So the table looks messy with the place cards, the central table number and the escort cards all strewn about.  

To conquer this issue, I thought of some ideas to keep the tables looking nice and allow the escort cards to be more interactive.  

The Garden Party

Below, I chose to use fake flowers as the Escort Card.  I wrote the guest's names on the petals and slightly hid the table number to keep it looking clean.  I then baked cupcakes in silicon flower pots and created stem using a straw and added leaves, this becomes the Place Card.  The ladybug is optional if you don't mind where the guests actually sit, as long as they're at the right table.  Once the guests pick their seats, they can place the back of the flower/"escort card" into the straw!  It also becomes dessert!

The Nautical Party

For this theme I put a spin on the regular paper boat.  I made these ones out of wax paper so they can float in water without falling apart.  The paper boat becomes the Escort Card with the name on the front and the table number on the back.  In keeping with the theme, I used a large crab pot as my ocean and filled it with food colored water.  The guests can place their boats in the water once they arrive at their table and voila!-it also becomes a beautiful centerpiece.  The water becomes the Place Card with the boat aiming at each seat.

Share the News Party

For smaller events, tangible escort cards aren’t necessary.  I chose to make an Escort Wall instead, having the guests just memorize their table number.  The Place Cards are newspaper pages.  I suggest reviewing the pages you find just to be sure the content goes with the theme.  I chose cooking pages and added each person’s name.