DIY Wedding Revisited: Place Cards

A big decision for a bride and groom is whether or not to have assigned seating.  There are pro’s and con’s to each.  For us, the pro’s of making sure that everyone had a place to sit with people we thought they would mesh well with was worth the con’s of the extra time and energy of designing place cards and figuring out the seating chart. 

We crafted two shallow boxes out of “old barn wood” that my hubby actually ripped off an old shed at his parent’s house….that they were still using.  We had to calk the edges of the box so we could fill them with sand and the boxes would actually hold the sand.    

As the reception was on a tent on the gorgeous Lake Vermillion where we both grew up, and I love me some sentimentality, I decided to name our tables after the islands on the lake.  They had beautiful names like strawberry island, blueberry island, and sunset island so I just couldn’t resist.  This adds a tricky element into the place card element.  Typically tables are numbered and guests figure out the numbering system and find their table.  To make it easier for the named tables I created a table chart so guests could visually see where their table was in relation to others.  I also had my host couple on hand to guide those who were lost to the correct place.       

When designing the place cards I wanted them to stick right up in the sand.  I simply printed out cards with the person's name and table name and matted the names on two sheets of cardstock in coordinating colors.  I created customized table names that looked similar to the place cards…which the wind promptly blew over.  You win some, you lose some!        

*Pictures of the wedding day were taken exclusively by Amber Asman of asmanphotography.  In short, she rocks.