TOP 5 MUST HAVE WEDDING DAY SIGNS

The daunting topic of wedding day signage.. we know this can get overwhelming, and oftentimes you aren't even sure what wedding day signs you actually need and what are just for decoration. Below we're going to breakdown the must-have signs you need in order to create a seamless experience as your guests migrate from ceremony, to cocktail hour, and into reception.

We've dished up the deets on wedding day signs with Madie's experience working in wedding planning and seeing what do's and don'ts there are on wedding days. We are also pulling directly from the signage orders our brides place with us and the average items that are normally contracted for our services. Let's get started by breaking down the signs needed at your wedding ceremony.

All Wedding Vendor details can be found at the bottom of this post.

Photographed by @claud.nine.photo.

THE CEREMONY

First and foremost, we've attended our fair share of weddings over the years as a guest, the bride ourselves, or even the day-of coordinator. We completely understand the anxieties are arriving to an event space you've never been to before, or traveling across the country for a family members special day. Wedding travel and attending can be disorienting and overwhelming. With that being said, it's important you greet your guests with a welcome sign so they know they've made it to the right place!

1. Welcome Sign

A sign created to greet your guests at the entrance of the wedding venue or ceremony location. It's your first directional signage item that brings comfort to your guests as they arrive on site and attempt to find where they're meant to be.

This sign can be located near your 'welcome table', at the edge of a parking lot, or at the front doors of the correct entrance for guests to use. The more straight forward you can be with your guests the better! You don't ever want to leave them wondering 'what's next?' or 'where to?'

Photographed by @claud.nine.photo.

OTHER SIGNS TO CONSIDER FOR YOUR CEREMONY SPACE

This list is for the top 5 must haves, so your welcome sign is the only thing for ceremony that we would consider a mandatory item. There is still a wide selection of creative signs you can include in your ceremony for sentimental, decorative, and directional value. Here's a few examples -

Gift & Cards Sign - to be displayed at your gift table so guests know where to set their gifts and cards.
Guestbook Sign - to be displayed at your welcome table so guests know where and how to sign the guestbook. This is extremely helpful if you have a unique guest book!
Unplugged Ceremony Sign - Are you having an unplugged ceremony? make sure guests know to shut off and put away their electronic devices before ceremony starts by creating a sign and placing it by ceremony.
Reserved For/In Memory of Seating Signs - Do you have some reserved chairs? or chairs set aside in memory of loved ones? Make sure guests know by creating signs to hang on those chairs.
Restrooms Signs - Is your venue slightly complicated? We advise using directional signage to show guests where they can find the restrooms during the event. We highly advise this for outdoor weddings or larger event spaces.

COCKTAIL HOUR

Cocktail hour is one of the more exciting parts of the wedding day since guests get to start mingling and drinking!! Everyone is starting to loosen up and really enjoy themselves at this point, and feeling all warm and fuzzy from watching the bride and groom say I DO! It's also where one of our favorite signage items resides... the seating chart!!

1. Seating Chart

This is exactly what it sounds like, a large scaled chart that lists guest names and their assigned tables. It's a great way to alleviate anxiety around where the guests are seating and who they're seating next to. Regardless if you're doing place cards, or escort cards, we still believe a seating chart is mandatory for a smooth dinner service and transition from cocktail to reception seating.

1. Bar Menu

A simple menu showing a selection of wine, beer, liquor, and mixes that guests can choose from throughout the evening. Some couples opt for a Signature Cocktails side instead.

Photographed by @claud.nine.photo.

THE RECEPTION

Good food. Good music. Amazing company.

The dinner reception is by far one of our favorite parts of any event. It leaves so much room for creative freedom and design opportunity. Between florals, linen colors and texture, dinner menus, table numbers.. the list just goes on! But before we get ahead of ourselves let's take a look at the last few must have signs to complete your wedding day.

1. Table Numbers

Labeling your tables with numbers or a trendy theme is a quick and simple design element that aids in creating a smooth transition from cocktail to reception. It will allow guests to quickly identify where their table is.

Photographed by @claud.nine.photo.

Common Materials for Table Numbers

We can create table numbers out of almost any material, but brides usually opt for acrylic, wood, foam core, or heavy cardstock.

2. Place Cards

Place cards!! The best way to tell a guest where their seat is and you can kill two birds with one stone by coordinating with catering on the design. This means including different colors, symbols, ribbons or elements that represent a meal selection. Each meal selection will be assigned a different color so catering can quickly walk around and know that 'blue' means steak!

Place cards can make plated meal services a very smooth and seamless process.

Photographed by @claud.nine.photo.

For this wedding, we used two different colored silk ribbons and tied them to the left edge of each place card. The rust ribbon represented salmon and the terracotta ribbon represented steak. We also included 5 additional black cards for the day-of coordinator incase anyone had a last minute meal change or discrepancies.

OTHER CREATIVE SIGNAGE OPTIONS

We adore designing and creating for the wedding industry. Event design is so much fun! Wedding have really become untraditional and unique since COVID-19 rolled around and shook the industry. With the wedding boom actively upon us, we are finding there's more untraditional situations and scenarios than there are traditional. This makes our job way more fun!

Here are some other signage and stationery items we see brides inquire and book for -

Dinner Menus

Shot Walls

Dessert Table Sign

DJ QR Code 'request a song' Sign

Hashtag Signs

Water Bottle Labels

Custom Stickers

Cookie Label Stickers

His & Hers Money Dance Signs

& so much more!!

Madison & Trevor's Wedding Vendors