How to Fill Out Place Card Holders

There are a few ways to fill out place cards and holders.

Any event with planned seating requires the use of place cards of some kind. There are many different types of place cards, but they all contain the same information. A place card holds the guest's name and indicates where they should sit. Filling out the place cards and place card holders properly can vary based on the formality of the event. With the most formal events, the person's name and full title is required on the card.

Things You'll Need

• Scrap paper
• Calligraphy pens
• Markers
• Quality pen
• Place cards
• Place card holders

Instructions

1. Determine the formality of the event. The formality will dictate how to write the name on the card that you place inside the card holder. Sometimes you can determine the appropriate font style and name formality from the design of the place card itself. Fun, plain or quirky cards can have less formal names, while formal cards with embossing or engraving should have more formal writing. Formal cards receive full titles in front of each name, while informal cards can have a person's name without a title. For smaller, less formal events, using just the first name of a person is acceptable.

2. Choose a font style. Try out several different styles and sizes of fonts on scrap paper, using a calligraphy pen, markers or a fine quality ink pen. Try to keep the font and size of text as consistent as possible for the most professional look. Once you decide on a font style and size, you can start writing the names onto the place cards.

3. Fill out all the place cards. Do not stack the completed cards for several minutes to allow the ink to dry. Nothing is worse than spending a lot of time writing a beautiful place card and then having it ruined by smudged ink. After five minutes of drying time, you can stack the place cards.

4. Fit the cards into the place card holders on the day of the event. Do not put the cards in the holders before the event date or else the cards can get bent or damaged in some way. Slide the cards into the place card holder from the outside corner edge until they fit snugly in the holders.

5. Place the holder on the table at the top of each person's plate.

References

• Wed Net: Seating Chart and Place Cards
• Wedding USA: Place Card Etiquette