While in the States the best dressed weddings may have both
Escort Cards and Place Cards - don't worry ladies, I will explain
both terms in just a minute - in Israel we are happy with just Place
Cards! Or at least what we call Place Cards.
Unless you are planning the next Belz wedding, Place
Cards are not just a 'nice-to-have' wedding enhancement; I believe they are
a courtesy you show your guests.
First off, what is the difference between Escort
Cards and Place Cards?
Simply put, Escort Cards are the personalized name cards guests should
find on a table in the entrance to the Hall.
These cards indicate the guest's name and their dinner table
number. They are usually set up
in rows in alphabetical order either by last or first name. (Yes, I have seen
it arranged according to first name.
I disagree with it, but I will live with it if I have to.)
Place Cards, on the other hand, are found on the dinner tables
and they indicate the guest's specific seat. I think Place Cards are overkill and
totally unnecessary in the world of Israeli Wedding Halls. Most Halls set up the venue, especially the
dining tables, only an hour or two before the wedding (Kabalat Panim) is
scheduled to begin. There is simply not
enough time to place these cards and then double-check that they are ALL positioned
correctly.
If a table number is misplaced it can be changed, but
changing around the cards of a 10-or 12-seat table and then checking separate
seating cards for 150, 200 or 400 or more guests is just absurd. These cards will add more pressure and create
more problems than it was ever meant to solve.
Wedding business is BIG business here in Israel. Weddings in Israel have become big, expensive
productions and I would have thought that by now ALL
Wedding Halls would provide Escort Cards (in Israel we call them
Place Cards and I will continue to use this term as well), but they do
not. Thankfully this is one item that you
or your friends or your family can create as an easy and cheap DIY project!
While you are creating these Place Cards, don't
forget to create RESERVED table cards for the band and photographer
(they can usually sit at the same table), Family of the chatan, Family
of the Kallah and for Meshanchim, if you are having this
arrangement. Some weddings also have one
or two tables simply listed a Friends of the Kallah and Friends of
the Chatan, as these guests may come and go at different times.
Reserving a table for a group such as "friends
of" can be very cost effective, especially if these friends
may only stay for part of the celebration.
This arrangement is especially worthwhile when the bride and/or groom
are relatively young and their friends tend to arrive and leave in droves
depending on school, army and baby schedules.
This Reserve table arrangement enables you to seat these groups at
one or two tables and will alleviate the need to 'open' a "reservee"
table for just a few guests.
An explanation of the Reservee table concept: The "reservee" table concept
enables the Hall to set up a definite number of tables for guests while reserving
anywhere between one to three tables that will ONLY be opened in the event that
"unexpected" guests arrive. The idea is that of the 100% of guests
who RSVP they are attending, some 5-10% DO NOT attend at the last
minute. Therefore, if you have a
guest list of say 100 attendees, you can tell the Hall to set up for 80,
for which you will have to pay for 80 meals and one reservee table that
will only be opened if some of the 5-10 percentile (="unexpected
guests") actually show up. The rule
is simple: once a table is opened you pay for all the seats on that
table – whether there are bodies sitting on the seats and eating or not.
If you do not have a Wedding Planner helping you on the
night of the wedding, then appoint someone to observe what is going on
vis-à-vis the tables and ensure that a) reservee tables are not opened up
without reason and your permission (!) and that b) guests are not mistakenly sitting
at these tables – as this will COST YOU!
So back to place cards:
Here are some original place card ideas: http://sweetvioletbride.com/2013/05/nature-inspired-escort-cards/?goback=%2Egde_1777060_member_243612144
Here are some formal place cards I have designed,
repeating themes found on the wedding invitations:
Want personalized place cards? Contact me today! yochi@yochistyles.com
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