Hi, loves! Emma here. Chances are you are looking for cheap wedding place cards for your reception. Perhaps you even want escort cards and place cards or want to know the difference.
Place cards are something you definitely need if you wish for guests to sit at specific seats during the reception.
This is helpful if you’re having long rectangular tables and want to create more specific table arrangements; place cards are also helpful if you want to seat guests at tables in specific seats to be closer to friends, family, or acquaintances with whom you know they’d get along.
Escort cards are slightly different than wedding place cards. And I’ll just take a quick moment to explain the difference, in case you’re wondering.
Escort Cards vs. Place Cards: What’s the Difference?
– Escort cards: Also known as seating cards or table cards, these are the cards used to help guests find their table. These are also the cards you see upon entering the reception space (although sometimes you’ll find a seating chart or chalkboard as an clever alternative). Escort cards will say something like, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Table 4” and they are placed in alphabetical order for guests to easily spot their card and find the table.
– Place cards: These cards are specific cards used to place guests at their seats. These cards might say, “Mrs. Jessica Smith” and it will be placed atop the place setting at her seat. When she finds her table with her escort card, she will then go to Table 4 and sit down at that specific seat.
Do you need seating cards AND place cards?
Do you need escort cards AND place cards? Well, that all depends. (We covered it in greater detail here.)
The short of it is, if you want guests to sit at specific seats at your tables, then yes: you need escort cards and place cards.
Place cards are a nice touch to your place settings. They add a very personal, warm welcome for guests to see upon arriving at their table.
If you know where to buy cheap place cards, you can save lots of money on your wedding. Imagine: $3 per place card x 200 guests = that’s an extra $600 from your budget just for telling guests where to sit! And that’s not even counting place card holders if you’re going that route.
Lucky for you, we know that may sound pricey to spend so much on one card for each guest. And we know place cards don’t HAVE TO be expensive.
There are plenty of easy ways to save money on place cards and we’ll outline the five best places to buy cheap place cards.
Even though these affordable place cards will save you money, they’re definitely NOT cheaply made. These place cards are beautiful, quality-made cards and will look elegant at your wedding reception.
In addition, you can order these as escort cards instead. Just be sure to add the table number for each card at the top or bottom so guests can find their seats easily. :)
Cheap Place Cards for Weddings
1. Cheap Place Cards on Etsy, $1 each
For around $0.90 each, you can get personally calligraphed (and might I add, lovely) place cards made by Simple Southern Crafts as one resource.
As another option, try these pretty cards by The Scripted Shindig. These are tented place cards, similar to the ones above, so you don’t need a holder to keep the place cards standing upright. Buy Here
Want to print your own? For just $12.99, you can get a template and print as many place cards as you’d like. By Jessica Michael Prints. A great affordable option for printing many place cards. Buy Now
2. Place Cards from Basic Invite, $1.09 each
Starting at $1.09 each (and of course, pricing may vary based on your unique quantity), Basic Invite is a great resource for cheap place cards — and honestly, affordably priced wedding stationery of all shapes and sizes.
WHY THEY’RE CHEAP PLACE CARDS: These place cards are affordably priced, but totally high-quality in printing. They’re inexpensive based on around $1 each, with total customization on your end. Free recipient addressing AND quick turnaround time on shipping makes this a win-win. And since these are tented place cards (they stand up on their own), you don’t need card holders. Double win.
And yes, you can even get clear acrylic place cards for cheap! Same price.
One of the reasons why I like this site so much is because it’s totally custom: in a few clicks, you can take any design and change the font, colors, or wording to whatever works best for your wedding style and theme. And they have loads of great design choices to choose from, so if you just want to pick one and edit the names, you can do that, too. It’s really user-friendly and super easy: no tech-savvyness required! Buy Here
You can see more place cards here.
3. Cheap Place Cards on Minted, $0.70/each
You probably didn’t know you could get place cards, completely customizable, and beautifully designed, for as low as $0.70 each from Minted. It’s true!
WHY THEY’RE CHEAP: There place cards are only $0.70 each. In addition, you get FREE guest addressing on the cards, so you won’t have to hand-calligraph them yourself.
There are so many styles to choose from, as well as matching pieces of stationery (i.e. you can get invitations to match the place cards, rehearsal dinner invitations, table numbers, programs, and more. Buy Here
Here are just a few designs to choose from; you can see more here.
Beautiful place cards above are perfect for a mountain themed wedding!
4. Inexpensive Place Cards from Shutterfly, $0.79/each
You probably didn’t know you could order place cards from Shutterfly, did ya? Most people don’t! And yet, they offer a really nice array of designs to fit most wedding themes and styles. Buy Here
WHY THEY’RE CHEAP: Similarly to mentioned above, you’ll need to hand-write the names and table assignments into these cards. But other than that, you can get cheap place cards that look beautiful and probably find a discount code or two to save even more. I always look for discount codes for Shutterfly!
5. Cheap Place Cards on Etsy in Laser Cut Style, under $1/each
Laser cut place cards are a unique style couples love, as it’s almost like a place card and take-home favor in one. Who doesn’t love his or her name on a custom, laser-cut piece of wood? Take a look at three places to buy cheap place cards in laser-cut form, below.
WHY THEY’RE CHEAP PLACE CARDS: No place card stand required! Plus, coming in at under $1, these are considered a steal.
At ONLY $0.75 each (on sale right now, actually!) you can have those trendy laser cut place cards you’ve always loved on Pinterest at a fraction of the price. These cheap place cards (easily $2 other places) are handcrafted by EspecialCRAFTS on Etsy and are available in a ton of color and font choices. Buy Here
As another option, these laser cut birch place cards from EngraveCelebration are also very affordable place cards. Coming in at under $1 each, these are made of birch plywood and, for a little more, can be painted in your choice of color. To be honest, I think the birch looks awesome as-is! Buy Here
Bonus: We also found these place cards and I love the size of them. Coming it at just around $1 (even less depending on quantity), these wooden wedding place cards make an exceptionally lovely touch. By CakeToppersForYou and the strong reviews speak for themselves. Buy It
Need place card holders?
Place card holders are usually not needed if you are buying tented place cards (as most styles are, shown above). However, if you’d like to make your own place cards you may need to put them in holders, in which case you’ll still be saving money by making them yourself.
You can buy these charming card holders by KarasVineyardWedding. We love them for wine themed weddings.
And there you have it: six places to buy cheap wedding place cards and/or escort cards. What do you think of these styles? Are you using place cards at your wedding?
Happy Planning!
xo
Emma
