Do I need to place cards at my wedding? What are the advantages/disadvantages of having them/not having them?

I'm just curious; I've never seen them used at any wedding that I've attended. My wedding reception will likely be semi-formal, taking place in the evening in a hotel ballroom/conference room (suitable for 500 people for dinner). The wedding ceremony will be taking place in the early afternoon.

I prefer them. I think it makes for a more organized reception if everyone knows where they are to sit. Also, I dont know if this would be a problem because I've never been to a wedding without them, but my main concern would be that you have empty seats at each table or that you wont have anough seating together meaning people would have to split up.
Lets say you have a table of 10 seats. If a family of 5 sits at it and then 2 couples, you have one seat left over. Who is going to sit there alone? Or say you have a family of 5 and there are only tables with 1 or two seats left available, the family would have to split up and not sit together, thats no fun.

I think its better to do table assignments, then you are guaranteed everyone will get a seat with their families and with people they know. You dont want people to be uncomfortable, and I will tell you, if I went somewhere and had to be separated from my kids or sit at some random table because those were the only seats left, I would be annoyed and angry.

There's no need,,,,let everyone find their own seat...
Sometimes it's for separating people who don't want to sit together, different dinner menus, etc.
They are time consuming, costly, and I've never seen them at any wedding I've been to either...

Some of the advantages are they keep thing organized and it forces people to mingle amongst each other. However, I say don't do it. Most people who will attend are adults and the should be allowed to sit wherever they want, plus it's a headache trying to figure out whose sitting where and who can't sit next to who. Just have fun at the reception.

You don't need place cards they are an unnecessary expense but you should let people know which table you would like them to sit at. My cater gives me the table numbers and I am just making a seating chart based on who sit at what table. Then I am typing up a list.. alphabetical order and telling them what table they sit at. I bought 2 lovely lenox frames and I'll frame the sitting charts and display them by the sign in book. It's a cheap easy elegant way of handling it. You should always have a sitting chart unless it's a very informal wedding.

Well, the advantage is it gets members of both families to mingle. But on the other hand, sometimes the only chance you get to mingle with your own extended family is at weddings and funerals. I say don't use them. Take the money you would spend on place cards and add it to what you planned on spending on your favors. Making those special shows people how important it was to you that they shared your special day with you. Good luck, and enjoy your day, it goes really fast!

having place cards is not expensive you can buy 48 for $5.00 in a craft store like the rag shop or Michael's or even at Staples. You print them from your computer. It makes it easier for your guest to pick up the card see what number table they are sitting at instead of people wandering around looking for a place to sit.

Honestly, it's one more stress you DON'T need - just when you have seating figured out, great-aunt so-and-so will call and say she's not coming if she can't sit by your second cousin George, and you KNOW you can't sit Mr. Jones next to Mr. Smith, because they don't get along. Now, you're back to suqare one, and you'll get ANOTHER call. Then what do you do for the people whose RSVP's haven't been received? You've got to call them all. And two weeks before your wedding, this is about the last thing you will want to be dealing with.

I would say make some "Reserved" signs for tables reserved for special aunts/uncles, grandparents, significant others of the bridal party, etc. When those guests arrive, point the tables out to them and be done with it.

Good luck!!

You must have seen placecards. They are just little pieces of paper folded in half and are placed at a table near the door. They tell the guests what table they're supposed to sit at.

The pros: Guests LIKE placecards. They don't want to wander around, looking at all these strangers, trying to figure out where to sit. Plus, having place cards means that every table will be full. Without placecards, guests will half-fill tables.

The cons: You have to decide who will sit where, and write out the placecards. But really, this is a small price to pay for the benefits. The reception will go much more smoothly if you don't have guests coming up to you asking "Where am I supposed to sit?"

Besides immediete family I would just let people sit where they want. You probally have so much more money to spend, why spend it on placecards. Most people probally wont be sitting down alot anyways, especially if you have live entertainment like a dj or band.

With 500 ppl, you need some sort of place cards or table markers. First, theres a lot of tables! But the truth is, you dont want your wonderful Aunt Sophie to be stuck sitting in teh cheap seats so far away she can't even see you----which is the point of place cards. I have also seen ppl just mark tables Family of the Bride and Family of the Groom or reserve the first 10-20 tables.....its up to you.

It depends on the people you have coming and the set up really. They help to make sure that people who get along or are together can sit together. For example the first people in places usually spead out, if a few people sit here and there then when a family with kids or your school friends who only know each other come in there may not be enough room for them to sit together. It can be good cause you don't have to worry about who likes who and who is compatable. We did it at my wedding and everyone was happy, the only time it really matters is the meal so either way.

That sounds like a very beautiful wedding, but unless you are going VERY FORMAL, like all the guests are in full length gowns and tuxedos, you don't need to do place settings. I am having a semi-formal wedding and expecting to have around 250 at my reception and I'm only doing the bridal table. If you do everyone else's place settings, it'll be too stressful and take up too much of your time that you could be spending on something else. Also think of what if someone you expect to come, doesn't show up? what if someone you didn't expect to show up does? where would they sit? It's just easier to not do it. Plus people like to choose where they sit, not have to sit by someone they may not like or know. Good luck and by the way , CONGRATS!!

A nice alternative to assigning specific seats for your guests is just assigning them to a specific table. Once they arrive to the table, they can sit in any seat they choose. Assigning tables and/or seats is not only done to facilitate seating family and friends together but also to avoid potential disruptions from people who do not get along. Assigned seating is also done to help arrange seating for guests who may be attending the reception alone and do not really no anyone else there. By seating them with other peers, it can help that person feel more comfortable. Also it assures that everyone will not have difficulty in locating a seat (for example: a party of 4 may not be able to find a table with 4 empty seats available when guests seat themselves). Some venues also require seating arrangements for larger parties to facilitate serving when guests will be served different plated meals.

So of course you don't have to have assigned seating or even assigned tables if you do not want to, but I just wanted to offer you some reasons as to why it is done. If you do decide to assign tables (but let guests choose their own seats), you do not have to purchase table cards. Instead type up a list in alphabetical order by guests last name that indicates the table to which they have been assigned. Then distribute copies of the lists to your ushers or hostess so they can inform guests of their assigned table as they arrive for the reception.