Place cards and escort cards are an elegant way to help your guests feel welcome and comfortable knowing that they don't have to worry about not finding a seat near their families, dates, or friends.

(And place cards also help ensure that certain guests are not seated in proximity to each other!).

PenDance now offers our own tent-style place cards that you can purchase along with our hand calligraphy or computer calligraphy services.

The cards are 2.5" x 5" when folded, and are available in Crane Fluorescent White, Pearl White, and Ecru.

NOTE: Computer calligraphy on place cards or escort cards is only available on PenDance's tent card stock.

Tips for Place Card Names

We recommend using only a guest's first and last name on each place card, rather than using titles like Mr. or Mrs. The exception would be for doctors or elected officials who might be offended if their titles were left off.

If you do prefer using titles, remember that married women should be addressed with their husband's first names, not their own first name. Using "Mrs." with the woman's first name indicates that she is a divorcee.

Example: Mrs. John Smith

If you do want to use a title with a married woman's first and last name, use "Ms." instead of "Mrs."

Tips for Escort Card Names

When preparing your escort card list, example formats include:

• Mr. and Mrs. John Smith (one line)
   
• Mr. and Mrs.
  John Smith (two lines)
   
• Mary and John Smith (one line)
  
  (NOTE: the wife's first name goes first in this format so that the husband's first name is not separated from his last name)

I would not recommend using your guests' middle names on escort or place cards because the calligraphy would have to be small to accommodate their full names. It's nice to make the names as large as possible (sans middle names) so that guests don't have to bend over the table to read their cards!

To write the names as large as possible on the cards, I usually write the titles of married couples on one line and the husband's name on the second line.

For unmarried couples whose names both appear on the same escort card envelope, I will write each name on a separate line.

If a married couple has different last names, I'll write their names on separate lines and include "and" in between their names to acknowledge that they are married.

If you prefer to have the married couples' titles and names appear on one line, please let me know.

How to order place card  and/or escort card addressing

1. Call us or submit a Request for Quote to ensure availability to address your cards. We'll need the following information:

• Date of the event
• The date you need the cards returned
• The date you can provide us with the cards and your complete list of attendees
• Calligraphy style desired
• Number of cards you need
• If the place cards are tent-style, or presented in an envelope (escort cards)
• Whether you want married couples' names on one line or two
• Color of ink desired

1. Prepare your list in Word or Excel, then email us the list.
    
2. Plan to provide a minimum of 10% more cards than names, with no fewer than 10 additional cards. (If you are ordering PenDance card stock, you don't need to worry about paying for extra cards.)
    
3. If you have additional names or changes to your existing list, please email us just the changes, not the entire list again.
    
4. We'll call or email you when the cards are ready to deliver, along with the balance due. We usually keep 3-5 blank cards in case of last minute changes after delivery of the cards.

Tent Escort Card - Traditional Copperplate

Crane Escort Envelopes with names written across the top
edge so they could be displayed on a serving tray.

Place Card - Upright Script

Place Card - Spencerian

Escort Tent Card - Wavy Script

Escort Card - Large Match Box

Crane Escort Envelope

Note to clients outside Houston, Texas:

We must have the cards and complete list in hand no later than 7-10 business days before the event. Earlier would be better. We will mail the completed cards back to arrive at least 5 business days before the event (you pay shipping).

If you see any errors that we've made you must let us know immediately so that we can mail you the corrected cards via priority mail. Otherwise, you can opt to pay additional charges to upgrade the shipping. PenDance only pays shipping up to Priority Mail cost when there's an error on our part, otherwise the client is responsible for shipping charges. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us.

All shipping and delivery costs are the client's responsibility.