Name Plates - Place Cards
Name plates are used at an event to alert the guests of where they are sitting at a particular table. If the event planner and client have taken the time to arrange seating then it is for a particular reason and you should use name plates to control where people sit. It is one thing to verbally explain to a guest where they are sitting at the registration table and completely another for them to see their name at a particular seat. Name plates are a very formal gesture and can be placed either in front of the chair on the table or on the chair itself. A name plate is usually made of card stock and is folded like a miniature tent. They are often small in size and could represent some aspect of the décor. Reasons for having name plates are:
- Your guests are not familiar with one another
- Your guests separate different companies
- You want to acknowledge certain guests
- You have guests who do not get along
- You have to account for the spouses of your guests
Events that usually have name plates are:
- Weddings
- Charity Events
- Entertainment Industry Events
- Grand Openings
Basically, if you take the time not only plan a seating arrangement (which is very smart because it keeps things organized) but make name plates as well it is for a good reason. Name plates also seem to take the pressure off of people scrambling to find the best seat at a table. The party organizer might be familiar enough with the social habits and history of their guests (which depends directly on the type of event) to decide which guest should sits next to who. It is not fun for anybody if two people who loathe each other have to sit next to each other because they both arrived late and all other seats were taken. It saves people from feeling as though no one wants to sit next to them and can also give people a new experience. Name plates also are the next step in the planning of seating arrangements. It is easy enough to tell someone where they are sitting but they will either forget or just decide to sit somewhere else. This can cause extreme confusion because then they will sit in a seat assigned to someone else and the pattern just continues. If there are name plates, people will be more likely to sit in there seat or at least trade their name plate with someone else’s.
