Do you really need escort cards and place cards? What is the difference between the two? We’ll tell you! Read on for the guide to the escort card vs place card debate. :)

Hi, lovelies! Our Ask Emmaline inbox has been filled to the brim lately and we’re loving the questions rolling in! Bride-to-be Kellie wrote to us asking, “Do I need escort cards AND place cards at my wedding?”

Kellie says that her fiancé, Tim, thinks, “having both seems like overkill”, but Kellie wants to know if it’s the norm to have both at a wedding. She wants to know the difference between escort cards vs. place cards, and we’re here to tackle it. Read on to find out which one you really need — and whether you need to have both escort cards and place cards at your wedding.

Escort Cards vs Place Cards

Do I Need Place Cards and Escort Cards at My Wedding? - Ask Emmaline (via EmmalineBride.com)

The Difference Between Escort Cards and Place Cards

First things first: what’s the difference? Here’s the difference between an escort card vs place card and where they are displayed at your wedding.

Escort cards

Escort cards tell guests which TABLE at which to be seated. Your escort cards are placed at the front of your wedding, most often near the entryway of the reception. Escort cards are often folded tent cards, but they can be a variety of styles (even unique escort cards like these count!)

If you’d like guests to take a glass of champagne upon entering the reception, use specialty escort cards that fit onto the rim of flutes, like these cards by Rag and Roots.

buy here

Honestly, have you ever seen anything cooler than a champagne wall?!

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These acrylic champagne escort cards are also very modern + fun. I picture them for an art deco wedding! By Scripted Ever After.

buy here

Box wreath escort cards are also a nice touch and add a little decor to your tables. This one is by TheScriptedShindig and features a tiny table number in the bottom right-hand corner.

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Or how about escort cards that double as champagne favors? Love this idea by SouthpawandCo.

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If you are placing traditional cards, an easy way to keep them standing upright is to use these chic escort cardholders by ZCreateDesign. Great idea!

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And if you prefer a seating chart, where guests walk up to a sign (like a chalkboard, mirror, or a large poster with the seating assignments), this is a very nice way to display them! Thankfully ZCreateDesign has taken the guesswork out of setting it up and yours can look as lovely as this:

via here

For paper escort cards, here are a few we love to inspire you.

via here

by amy kross

by hooray creative

Now that you know what an escort card is, here’s information on the place card.

Place cards

Place cards tell guests which SEAT is theirs at a particular table. This is NOT necessarily required; place cards are a very nice touch and add decoration, but most times you don’t need to seat certain guests at specific seats. If you’d like to skip a place card, that’s OK; escort cards, however, cannot be skipped.

Biggest Difference Between Escort Cards and Place Cards

Here’s the biggest difference between escort cards and place cards: escort cards are necessary and place cards can be skipped. That is because guests NEED to know which table to sit at, but they can choose any seat at that table if you opt for no place cards. (And with that, you’ll also need table numbers, just FYI!) Sometimes a place card is necessary if having a particular entree choice, at which case you would definitely need to have cards like these.

If you do wish, however, for guests to have definite seats (helpful if you have very long tables and you need a way to divide the sections by seating assignments), here are some lovely place card options in traditional paper styles, as well as creative and unique place card options.

And if you have nice handwriting, you can definitely DIY your own place cards. I did! You can use a nice non-smudge permanent marker like this (I swear by these!) and cards like this: