Programs, Menus, Escort Cards, Place Cards, Table Cards...Oh my

I am doing programs, no menus, no escort or place cards! But we are having a buffet, and just having some type of sign showing people's tables

Skipping programs, menus and place cards (no assigned seat at table). Having thought about if I want to do escort cards or just make a sign of some sort.

IMO programs are unnecessary unless you are having a long religious ceremony and want to help guests follow along. Otherwise, 2nd cousin Bill doesn't care that your BM's name is Emily.

Programs aren't necessary, I'd personally skip them and use the money for something else. I don't think menus are necessary either, especially if people RSVP what they want prior, for a plated meal. If you have assigned tables (do this!), you don't necessarily need assigned seats/place cards. If you have a guest's meal noted on the escort card (with a little symbol or something), you don't need a place card, and the caterer/servers can tell from the escort card who gets served which meal.

I think programs over menus. If it's a plated service people will have already picked what they're eating, right? thats usually how it's done, i think, so you would need place cards and escort cards. And think about your venue, is it easy to find parking? the ceremony space? the reception space? the bathrooms? Mine is easy to me, but it's a camp i've been going to since i was a baby. I'm making signs so people aren't just wandering around.

I'm designing printing my own programs (we're having a time of worship and i thought we should have the lyrics somewhere. programs make sense), directional signs (where the bathrooms are, where to park, etc.), and informational signs (sign our guest book, cookie table, buffet signs, gift table sign). and I'm making my own escort cards. DIYing these things was pretty simple. an hour or two on Pages (i have a mac, but Word does the same things) and i have what i think are some really nice, coordinated signs that I can either put on a flash drive and have printed at staples or print at home on nice paper.

The only reason I'm sort of considered menus is because when they choose their dish, they just choose filet, salmon, or vegetarian...I feel like knowing what else will be served is nice. But, I'm still on the fence!

I think I need to check with my venue to see if they require place cards ahead of time, because on the last planning PDF she sent me it said they need to know who's at what table, where they are seated, and what meal they chose ahead of time. I'm wondering if the servers don't even come out to check the cards prior to serving dinner...and then, I can't really order place cards until I have all my RSVP's. Cutting it close!!!

Our ceremony is going to be short and sweet, so I will skip the programs :-)

@catlady I love that idea! Solves two problems :-) I may have to design my own...I don't think WPD offers anything like that lol. But it's a great idea!

We're skipping programs, using a mirror for our seating chart and our menus will double as place cards (each menu will be personalized with a guest name).

We did programs, a menu that doubled as a place card, and a seating chart to show table assignments! I love pretty wedding paper, so I cared way too much about these elements

A lot of guests will naturally grab their escort card and put it at their seat at the table, so you could go that route to save on paper costs!

@catlady, I use canva all the time! :-) It's a great program.

@WWLynnie - was that your place setting? Where did you get the round menus?

All you really need is escort cards to get people from point a to point b.

@Katelina1 - I actually cut them by hand! I couldn't find the right size circular menu I needed online so I downloaded a free template and printed them at Staples on card stock then bought a circular paper cutter from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewart-Crafts-Circle-Cutter/dp/B0044JOO3M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490803339&sr=8-1&keywords=circle+paper+cutter

I had around 175 to cut so it definitely took a few nights, but I loved how it turned out!

You really only need escort cards. People will carry those to the tables with them.

I'm doing place cards just because they're pretty. We also have a small guest list with long banquet tables so I'm nervous that people won't sit in the appropriate spots for the seating to work out without them. I agree that programs are unnecessary but the menus could be nice touch if they're really cheap.