We’re back with more practical wedding calligraphy and stationery advice today, and this time we’re talking all about one of the most popular wedding trends that we’re seeing: the escort card display. Your wedding escort card display is a great opportunity to ‘wow’ guests when they enter cocktail hour or your reception space after the wedding ceremony. If you have questions or concerns about how it will all come together at your wedding and want to know a few insider secrets from the pros (that’s us!) that will make your wedding day so much smoother, you’re in the right spot as we’re sharing our best tips for escort card displays.
Whether you opt for a display table or a display wall, the options for creating an interactive escort card display are endless. And believe us, we’ve seen it all when it comes to escort card displays, like this garden-inspired escort card display wall with personalized calligraphy, or this village-themed escort card and favor wall with guest names written in calligraphy on porcelain houses.
No matter what you choose, escort card displays are popular because it’s a chance for couples to personalize their wedding day and a great opportunity to get your guests mixing and mingling on the big day as they find their table location and seating assignment.
We’ve been working with couples to design and assemble escort card displays for many years now, each one more unique than the next. We often come in person to weddings and events as an on-site paper concierge + calligrapher to make sure your escort card display is picture-perfect, and guests are seated where you want them to be seated.
You want it easy for your wedding guests to find their names, of course, and also make your escort card display a unique decor element that will get your guests talking, but there are also a few tips and tricks that will help elevate your escort card display and turn it into a memorable experience for your guests.
Here are our best tips (and a few rules!) for a functional and fun escort wall display that couples should follow when creating and arranging their escort cards.
Fun Yet Functional
While you can have fun with your wedding’s escort card display, it should still be functional. At the end of the day, the purpose of any escort card display is to help your guests find their seat or their table. If the escort card confuses guests or creates a huge line while guests search for their name or table, then it hasn’t done its main job.
We love nothing more than a unique escort card display, but trust us when we tell you that your escort card display must function better than it looks. The last thing you want at your wedding is an escort card wall that creates a line or backup, and gets your guests talking…but not in a good way.
Alphabetical Order By Name
The first rule to follow for your escort cards is to use alphabetical order rather than table numbers to sort guests’ names on the escort card display. Your guests don’t know what their table number is when they arrive at your wedding, so if you organize your escort cards by table number you’ll create a major bottleneck issue heading into the reception. Guests will naturally scan for their name instead of a table number or table name, so make it easier on them and sort the escort cards alphabetically.
If you display your escort cards by table number, it defeats the purpose of having the display and makes it harder for your guests to locate their names. They will have to read each table listing for their name rather than be able to quickly identify their name on an alphabetical list.
Use Last Names
In addition to using alphabetical order to sort your guests on your escort card display, you should be sure to use their last names and not their first names for the alphabetical order. Using the last name for your alphabetical order will make it easier and quicker for your guests to locate their escort card. Using last names will help to keep the line at the escort card display moving!
A pro tip is to be sure to use the last name of the primary invited guest when crafting your escort card display. This concept is very similar to how you would address your wedding invitations.
Couple Not Individual
Our last tip for making your wedding escort card display functional is to organize it by couple and not individual. In general, couples will be sat together at the same table, so you can list them on the same escort card versus having two separate escort cards for each person.
The exception to this rule is if you are using a unique personal gift or favor as your escort card, or providing an edible escort card that you want each guest to receive, like a champagne wall.
Be sure to follow our tried and true rules for your wedding’s escort card display and you’ll have your guests talking in all the right ways about your wedding! No matter what you decide for your escort card display from walls to tables, remember that our on-site paper concierge service is a game changer for your wedding and will ensure your escort card display is expertly assembled.
To learn more or to inquire about your own custom wedding stationery or wedding branding needs, please visit the weddings section of our website.
