Claire Lui

The classic tented place card set above the dinner plate is always proper and elegant. But by tucking it in a different spot or changing its form, you can easily customize this practical card to suit the particular style of your wedding.

The seven versions we’ve created are playful and surprising, and they make use of ordinary objects in innovative ways: One place card rests between the tines of a fork; another hangs over the rim of a glass. All of the cards are easy to make,but you might want to enlist the help of your stationer or a calligrapher for printing or writing the names in a beautiful way. When you give the finished place cards to your caterer to set out on the tables for the wedding reception, make sure he or she knows just where they’ll go.

Place cards may seem like a tiny detail, but their role is important. At most weddings, many people will be meeting for the first time, and place cards can help guests feel more at ease – it’s nice for them to have an assigned seat rather than scrambling to find a spot. And for guests who have just met, place cards are friendly reminders of neighbors names.

Excerpted from a six-page article about place cards, including how-to instructions. The full article was printed in the Summer 2003 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings