Expert Advice from wedding guru, Sharon Naylor

Answer:

Great question! Place cards have gotten way more creative now.

You could do the traditional name cards that are just folded 'tent' cards with guests names written on them (as in 'Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Smith') and arrange these alphabetically. Since you have two tables, why not arrange those with a clearly visible sign saying 'A - J' and 'K - Z'? That will let guests see from a distance that they can easily go to the table they need.

You can also get cute little $1 placecard holders at the craft store, such as a starfish or a heart or anything else that fits your theme, and have each placecard attached to those.

I attended a wedding that had long planters filled with real grass, and the name cards were stuck into that for a natural, outdoorsy look.

I'm also seeing placecard boards arranged, with Table Numbers and the names of the people sitting at each table. For example,

Table 2
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Jones
Mr. & Mrs. John Anderson
Miss Emily Anderson
Miss Julia Anderson
Miss Sarah Anderson

And so on. There's no placecard for them to take. They just see which table they're at, and they go there. The boards are very pretty, using cloth-covered corkboards from the office supply store, decorated in the wedding colors.

If you need some additional ideas, just let me know! If you do a Google search on 'wedding placecards' you'll see some great ideas there, and of course bridal websites have lots of placecards and placecard holders for sale.