Display

• Couples who choose to assign seats should include a seating card at each place setting. This card should display the guests' name. Depending on the formality of your reception, you may choose to include the full name, such as "Mr. Derek Reed," or offer a less formal phrasing like "Emily Reed."
  
  

Design

• Creative couples do not have to use basic cards for seating, although a tented piece of card stock certainly works. Some couples keep seating cards simple and hand write or print a seating card with the guest's name. Consider hiring a calligrapher for added flair. Other couples choose to make the seating cards a decorative element of the reception table. Favors can serve double duty and include the guest's name. For example, if the guests are going home with a package of your grandmother's famous chocolate-chip cookies, use ribbon to attach a label with the guest's name on it to the favor.
  
  

Single Guests

• When you send out invitations, you might indicate "and Guest" for those single guests who can bring a date. However, this wording does not work for seating cards. Hopefully, your guest will include her date's name on the response card. If she doesn't, contact her and ask her guest's name, so that you can create a seating card for him.
  
  

Married Couples

• Even though married couples receive only one invitation, they should have their own seating cards at their place settings, according to The Knot. List the husband's name as "Mr. Todd Johnson" and the wife's name as "Mrs. Todd Johnson" or the more modern "Mrs. Amy Johnson."
  
  

Considerations

• If you're hosting a large wedding, you don't want guests to have to wander through dozens of tables trying to find their seating card. In these cases, consider creating a complementary seating chart that you can display at the entrance of the reception hall says Perfect TablePlan, a site dedicated to helping you plan seating arrangements for your event. Seating charts direct guests to the right table and the seating card supplements this information by showing guests their seat at the table.