How do place cards work at a wedding?

Short answer

Place cards sit at each guest's seat on the dining table. Guests find their name, sit there, and the card can also show their meal choice to waiting staff.

Place cards work like a simple seating guide. Before guests arrive, you arrange the tables with a card at every seat. Each card has one guest's name. When guests come into the dining room, they walk around the tables until they find their name, then sit at that spot.

This works best when you also have a table plan or escort cards near the entrance. The plan tells guests which table number they are at. Then the place card on that table tells them which chair to take. Without a plan, guests have to search every table, which can be slow for large weddings.

Place cards also help your venue staff. If you write the meal choice on the back of the card, or use a small symbol, the waiting team can serve the right dish without asking. That is especially useful for plated dinners with choices like chicken, fish or vegetarian.

You can set place cards yourself or ask your wedding planner, venue staff or bridal party to do it. Make sure the cards face the entrance of the room so names are easy to read. Place them on the plate, on the napkin, or leaning against a glass. Keep them consistent across all tables so guests know what to look for.