7 Ways to DIY Those Place Cards Yourself! (2024)

Wedding DIY enthusiasts, here’s a project that you can do without jeopardizing your big day!

Place cards are the perfect item to make yourself, adding some extra design flair to those essential little cards that tell guests where they’ll be sitting. With so many ways to decorate those cards, why would you ever just take plain ecru cards and write out names and table numbers? There’s so much more you can do to make them pretty, theme-matching, even sparkly and personalized.

Here are the top trends in wedding DIY place cards:

• Add a calligraphy flourish to the names and numbers. Either hire a calligrapher for this task (it’s surprisingly inexpensive!) or have a friend with decorative writing experience make these cards as a gift to you. Or, buy a calligraphy pen from the office supply or craft store and practice on your own before you write out these cards, to create your own style and get a comfort level with artsy writing.
• Glue a super-tiny crystal to the top center of the card, perhaps within your monogram. Go for a clear or colored crystal to add some bling to your cards, and use tweezers to help you place each self-stick or glued-backed crystal on your cards without making a mess.
• Use a decorative hole punch, such as in the shape of a tiny starburst or heart or bird, in the bottom corner, or top center, of each card. Some hole punches are extremely detailed, looking like expensive laser-cut invitation accents.
• Use stamp art. Check the craft store for a pretty rubber stamp and new stamp pad, and you’ll create an effect that may go very well with your rustic theme, or add some Victorian flair, or even shine with a special embossing set that creates designs or letters in shimmery silver or gold.
• Glue a feather to each place card, if you’re using feathers in your centerpiece or wedding décor, to tie your design style together.
• Choose a place card with a colorful border to add all the flair you need, and write guests’ names and table numbers in the same color pen.
• Write a message inside folded tent-style cards, such as a note from you, thanking them for attending, or a romantic quote. Always hand-write these; stickers or labels aren’t in keeping with formal wedding style, and guests think they look tacky.
• Aisle Files tip: I like to write the guests’ names on the front and back of the cards, so that when guests take their seats at a table with people they’ve never met before and make introductions, the people across the table from them have a reminder of their names later on. So they can say, “Hey Bill, can you please pass the butter?”

Tell us how you’ll DIY your place cards…

Pin this image to save this for later!