Wedding Signage - Where & How to Use It
Having various forms of signage sprinkled throughout your wedding is a wonderful way to not only add to the overall theme and style of decor but also, in simple terms, inform your guests of what will be happening and direct them where to go!
If you’ve ever been to a wedding or are currently in the thick of planning your own, you’re probably somewhat familiar with some of the different types of signage there are.
In this post, we wanted to give a brief explanation of several of the most commonly used signs, breaking them up by where we believe they will work best and providing examples of each from past Fancy Fox weddings to hopefully supply you with some inspiration!
Ceremony Space
Welcome Sign
As your guests walk into your venue, it’s always nice to have some sort of signage there waiting for them that has you and your partners’ names and possibly your wedding date, and/or a short greeting, such as “Welcome to Our Wedding,” or “We’re So Glad You’re Here!”
A welcome sign is often one of the very first things people will see. The color/style of the sign and any added decor (florals, candles, greenery, etc.) can give your guests a hint as to what they may be seeing more of throughout the day.
If you are getting married at a venue that has more than one ceremony space or the potential to have another wedding happening on the same day as yours, we highly suggest having a welcome sign so those you invited know they are in the right location!
Welcome Table - Guestbook / Cards & Gifts
Passing by your welcome sign, the next thing you may want to have set up for your guests upon entering your ceremony is a welcome table.
As folks are making their way to their seats, they may have a card or gift in tow that can be placed on this table before they sit down (so they don’t lose it or have to carry it around with them all day), and also, if you decide to have a guestbook, whether it’s a photo guestbook, an album to sign, or something else, putting it on this table is usually a good idea so that people see it right away and don’t forget to do it later in the evening.
If instead of gifts, you have requested that guests donate to a particular fund - for example, your honeymoon fund , house fund, or a charity of your choice - a great and simple way to do that is by creating a QR code and putting it in a cute frame that can be scanned, sending them straight to whatever website you’re using!
** If there’s enough room for it in your reception space, your welcome table can always be moved there while cocktail hour is happening to allow any guests who may have missed it to still participate in your guestbook or drop off a card/gift.
Ceremony - Programs / ‘Unplugged’ Sign / Reserved Signs
In terms of signage, the ceremony space itself usually doesn’t have a *ton,* but, there are a few things that can be added to inform your guests of different things. The first of these, being programs.
While it’s not always necessary to have wedding programs, they can be used to let those in attendance know what will be happening when throughout the day, they can include words or lyrics to a poem or song that may be read/sung during the ceremony, or, they can be a way to get to know you as the couple a little bit more, whether there’s a list of fun facts, a story of how you met, or a brief explanation of what your dreams/aspirations are as newlyweds.
Something else informative that you may want to make a sign for, is if you are wanting to have what’s commonly known as an ‘unplugged’ ceremony. Basically, all this means is that you are asking your guests to put away their cell phones or cameras through the duration of the service, so their full attention can be on you and your partner. This request can also be put in a program if you are not wanting signage for it, but sometimes, having a physical sign does work better as it’s something people will see right as they’re walking into the space.
The final piece of signage you may want to think about for your ceremony is reserved signs. If you have a smaller immediate family that won’t need more than the first row of chairs of each side, you may not need to reserve them, but, if you know that the first two, three, four, etc., rows will need to be saved, then tying little signs on each chair or placing a sign at the end of each row will probably be beneficial.
Cocktail Hour Space
Bar
This one is a little more self-explanatory, but it’s often nice to have some kind of signage placed at every bar that details exactly what types of alcohol people can choose from. Most couples will break it up by listing the different beers and wines, but if you have any special or signature drinks that will be served, these can be listed as well or even have their own separate signs!
Reception Space
Seating Chart
Unless you’re planning on having everyone sit wherever they want, your seating chart is going to be one of the most important pieces of signage you’ll have.
We like to suggest for a seating chart, that you break it up by last name rather than table number. So, for example, rather than doing “Table One,” “Table Two,” “Table Three…” with names under each, start with the beginning of the alphabet and go to the end, just noting next to each name which table they are seated at. This should make the process of finding seats a little easier and more efficient!
Memory Table
If there are any individuals, maybe family members or friends, that have passed away and are unable to attend your wedding, you can honor them if you so wish, with a memory table. ❤️
Often this will include photos of each person, sometimes with labels that have their name and relation to you and your partner. You can also add a little sign like the one pictured below (“Forever in our Hearts”) to go along with the photos.
Table Numbers
Another one that kind of speaks for itself - table numbers are important as they will dictate which table is which and allow each guest to find their seat with ease.
There are also so many ways you can personalize your table numbers! You can paint them to match your overall theme and decor, add a monogram of you and your partners’ initials, have a photo (or multiple photos) of the two of you as the background of each, and so much more!
One quick tip that we have with these, is to position each table number so that it’s facing the doorway your guests will be entering the space from, while also making sure it’s not blocked by a floral arrangement or something else on the table that would make it harder to find.
Place Cards
Our final type of signage that’s most commonly used at weddings is place cards. This is another one of those that isn’t always absolutely necessary, but having these on your tables can definitely make things easier for a couple of reasons…
First, it gives your guests an exact place to sit down and gets rid of the whole “well you can sit there, and I’ll sit here, and they can sit there” thing that can sometimes take extra time, and second, especially if you’ll be doing a plated meal, place cards are helpful because you can personalize them to reflect each individuals’ meal choice.
Whether it’s an icon of a chicken, cow, vegetable (for vegetarian), or perhaps a specific color of ribbon indicating what meal has been chosen, it makes dinner service a lot simpler for the catering staff whose main goal is to get out the correct meals in a timely manner.
If you decide to include menus on each place setting as well, or instead of place cards, you can add the indicator icon, ribbon, etc. on each menu as an alternative option.
Although not an exhaustive list, we hope that the variety of signage mentioned above and the explanation of each was helpful, and allows you to start brainstorming what you may (if you’re currently in the process of planning) want to use for your own wedding and in what ways.
** Many of the photos shown above are signage pieces that have actually come straight from Fancy Fox Events! If you are in need of help designing anything - whether it’s reserved signs, a bar sign, table numbers, place cards, etc. - let us know!! We will be more than happy to partner with you in creating something that you love, that’s unique to you, and that takes your ceremony, cocktail hour, or reception space, to the next level!
