28 Fresh Wedding Escort Card Ideas

Believe us: You're not limited to a card.

Updated 01/12/20

Congrats, you're married! You've celebrated with champagne at cocktail hour and now it's time for everyone to find their way to dinner. This is where these wedding escort card ideas come in. And, boy, are they important, considering the hours and hours you spent fine-tuning that seating chart. (After that much work, you definitely want your friends to sit in the seats you oh-so-carefully selected.)

But here's the thing: You don't want that chart to look so much like a chart, right? That's why we scoured our real wedding features and our favorite Instagram accounts, wedding photographers, and designers to find creative solutions to this dilemma. Here, you'll find 28 wedding escort card ideas that are perfect whether you're throwing a beachside bash (think classic and white), a garden party (think scented lavender sprigs), or lakeside soirée (think pieces of driftwood). And here's the newest trend in wedding escort cards: Choose something that can do double duty. Or you can go with a wedding escort card that's also a favor, like mini succulent plants (everyone loves those) or a personalized illustration of each guest (again, love). Basically, your guests are going to love anything with their name on it, so give them something that they can keep. It's a physical guarantee that they'll remember your big day forever. (Well that, and the fact that you're throwing a damn good party.)

Like those lavender sprigs we mentioned—they can serve as a fragrant treat at dinner, or even as a boutonniere on the men's jacket pockets.

Playful, sophisticated, visual, or text-focused, your escort card display is one of the most standout ways you can express your style at your reception. Keep scrolling to find the prettiest inspiration that best matches your wedding theme, and remember: There's no wrong way to create your seating chart, but there are 28—and counting—creative ways to display it with these fresh wedding escort card ideas.

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Bold Design

For this destination wedding, a 3-D escort card table featured a design element seen throughout the entirety of the couple’s day. “The evil eye artwork was carried out throughout the entire event design,” says Jeannette Tavares, chief creative director of Evoke Design & Creative. Remaining cohesive throughout your aesthetic will help tie-in each element (and event) of your wedding.

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Cheers

Greer Gattuso, owner of Greer Gattuso, photographed this striking reception display made of lush greenery, blooms, and champagne flutes. “I love the attention to detail with all the florals and the way the cards were displayed in champagne glasses for each guest,” says Gattuso. It truly made for a unique experience for guests to find their seat.

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Watercolor Blooms

“The couple took inspiration from the deep blues of the Pacific in nearby Carmel,” says Rosemary Hattenbach, owner of Rosemary Events. “The romantic, indigo watercolor lettering style by Chelsea Pejata was a consistent detail featured throughout the wedding,” Hattenbach adds. Guests' names were beautifully lettered on simple square cards and accented with vines and vibrant pops of coral peonies.

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Words of Love

“We wanted to create something a little more unique and different since we only had about 100 guests,” explains Kelly McLeskey, owner of A Savvy Event. The bride selected her favorite quotes about love to be incorporated into the seating chart. “We had these laser cut, so it stood out on the board and didn't look completely flat,” McLeskey adds. The edges of the escort card were a rose gold foil to match the wedding invitations.

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Bottoms Up

“Our clients love rap music, great food, and fun drinks,” says Laura Ritchie, principal event designer at Grit & Grace, who crafted this charming take on the reception card display. “The blush tone of the Himalayan sea salt caught my eye as an unexpected way to keep this radical idea still in the theme of their modern, romantic look, while also being reflective of who they are.”

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Charming Cloches

Glass cloches embellished with fresh blooms and white calligraphy made for an unconventional escort card display that brought an equal balance of charm and character. “Some of the cloches featured arrangements underneath them, almost like a botanical greenhouse presentation,” explains Anna Le Pley Taylor, owner of Anna Le Pley Taylor. When finalizing ideas, think outside of the box when it comes to non-paper materials.

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Black and White Elegance

“We wanted a dramatic entrance to the dinner tent,” says Heidi Hughett, co-owner of Coastside Couture. Guests were greeted by shelves of champagne studded with greenery and signs that read, “Sip and be seated.” Once they picked a glass, “They looked at the white and black six-foot-tall seating charts that were listed alphabetically on either side of the entrance for their table assignment,” explains Hughett. This clean and crisp display showcased both sophistication and simplicity.

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Floating Hearts

Infuse the florals, textures, and themes of your wedding into the design of your escort card display. “Don’t be afraid to stray from the norm and incorporate a vertical display instead of tented cards on a table,” advises Allyson Joseph, principal event producer at Bob Gail Special Events. Integrate the design of your escort card display into the natural setting by incorporating furniture pieces and potted plants. “So the piece looks as if it belongs in the space,” Joseph explains.

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A Fresh Take

Escort card displays are such a fun place to introduce wedding colors and style to make an impression. “However, it needs to be functional as well. You don’t want a long line of guests hunting down their names,” notes Sherry Spencer, partner at Southern Blooms. “We built this by covering foam board in grey silk and framing it out with white trim,” she explains. Sprigs of assorted greenery gave a fresh element to this chic display.

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Sealed With Love

“We love placing a monogrammed wax seal on our escort cards,” says Lindsay Jani, owner of Simply Sunshine Events. "It shows attention to detail and is a fun way to brand your day-of paper goods memorably and unexpectedly.” Here, a pop of red created a vibrant focal point to the cards' all-white base.

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Swinging From the Chandelier

At this backyard California wedding, a hanging escort card display looked like a modern chandelier. How fun!

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Missing Puzzle Piece

Escort cards — Photo by Christy Wilson Photography; Planning & Styling by Randi Events

Names were calligraphed on sheer tiles that looked as pretty together as they did apart.

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All Hung Up

Sometimes, simple is best. Here, square escort cards are printed in gold script and attached to twine. Colorful flowers add the final touch.

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Lavender Sprigs

Everyone loved the lavender escort cards at this Newport wedding—so much so that the men put sprigs in their lapel pockets.

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Colorful Love Notes

At this rainbow-colored wedding, the couple hand-wrote each guest a "love note" to thank them for attending. They placed each letter in a colored pocket, where the guests found their table number—and a surprise.

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Animalistic

Elephant Escort Cards — Photo by Corbin Gurkin Photography; Design by Tara Guérard Soirée

Elephant heads add a bit of fun—party animals, anyone?—to this mossy escort card table.

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Circles of Love

Circle Escort Cards — Photo by Erin McGinn

If you haven't heard, circle installations are all the rage. Here, thin escort cards were attached to rings of greenery for a fun display.

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Family Photographs

Photo Escort Cards — Photo by Larissa Cleveland

This escort card display is the epitome of personalization. The bride and groom selected their favorite photos of family and friends and used them—in black and white for a cohesive vibe—to lead everyone to the proper table.

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Delicate Discs

Mother-of-pearl-like discs, when calligraphed in pretty pink script, make for the perfect beachside escort card.

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Pressed Petals

For this botanical-loving bride, Sarah Winward created framed, pressed botanicals, which were finished with guests' names and table assignments.

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Rustic Driftwood

If you're saying "I do" in a rustic, lakeside ceremony, these are the escort cards for you. We love the mix of fonts on the natural wood.

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Trellis Display

Escort Cards on Trellis — Photo by Gayle Brooker; Design by Kristin Newman Design; Calligraphy by Elizabeth Porcher Jones Calligraphy

At this outdoor reception, white calligraphed cards were displayed on a trellis covered in greenery.

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Boho Dreams

Calling all boho brides. This escort card display combines a sweet saying with dreamcatchers, which are basically the coolest wedding favor ever, right?

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Pop of Pink

Fuchsia bougainvillea added a bit of color—and local flora—to this otherwise neutral display.

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Dip-Dyed Darlings

To create this boho-meets-rustic display, hand-calligraphed cards were dip-dyed in a warm blush hue and pinned to hanging threads with clothespins.

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Fresh Squeezed

If you're marrying in the orange state (or even if you just love oranges), consider this unexpected prop. Here, mini scrolls were added to citrus fruits for a fun pop of color (and maybe even a snack).

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Inside the Box

This organic-looking display brings flower box creativity to the next level. And we think it's perfect for your outdoor garden party, even without the flowers.

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Plant Yourself

Everyone knew where to "plant themselves" for this ceremony thanks to seating assignments tucked into mini terra cotta pots (which doubled as favors).