Place cards tell guests where to sit. They are used at weddings, formal dinners, corporate events, conference banquets and any sit-down meal where the host has decided seating in advance rather than letting guests choose. The card carries the guest’s name, sometimes the table number, and occasionally menu choices for catering staff. Compared to other event stationery, place cards are small, time-sensitive (printed close to the event), and almost always personalised — every card has a different name.

Templates handle the layout and let you insert names manually for small events or via mail merge for larger ones.

Tent versus flat formats

Place cards come in two formats, and the choice matters more than it sounds.

Tent (folded) cards stand upright on the table, visible from both sides when scored down the middle. They are the more formal option and the standard at weddings. They need a heavier card stock to stand cleanly without curling, and the print has to be set up correctly so the name appears on both sides when folded.

Flat cards sit on the plate, slot into a place card holder, or lean against a wine glass. They print and trim faster than tent cards, work well with calligraphy or hand-lettered names, but only show the name from one side.

For round tables where guests sit facing the centre, tent cards win. For long banquet tables where guests sit on both sides, tent cards still work but flat cards in stands also do the job.

Standard sizes

The most common place card sizes are dictated by the dominant Avery sheets:

  • Tent (folded): 3.5 x 4 inches unfolded, folding to 3.5 x 2 inches finished — the Avery 5302 and 8395 size
  • Flat: 3.5 x 2 inches finished — the Avery 5305 size, 10 cards per sheet

Larger formats exist for high-end events — 4 x 6 inches and 5 x 7 inches are common in custom wedding stationery — but most printable templates and pre-cut sheets stick to the smaller standard.

When matching a template to a sheet, the unfolded dimension is what matters for tent cards, not the finished size.

Software and mail merge

For small events (under 30 guests), manual editing is faster. Open the template in Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice, type each guest’s name into the placeholder, save and print.

For larger events, a mail merge handles the volume. The standard Word workflow: prepare the guest list in Excel with one column per data field (first name, last name, table number), open the place card template, start a mail merge under Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Labels, connect to the spreadsheet, insert merge fields, preview and print. Google Docs users can do the same with Google Sheets and a mail merge add-on like Autocrat. LibreOffice runs the same kind of merge against a Calc spreadsheet.

Common mail merge issues: long guest names that overflow the card field, hyphenated or accented names that need character checking, and missing data on guests who replied late.

Compatible sheets

Avery’s place card sheets cover the standard sizes. Avery 5302 (8-up tent) and 8395 (8-up tent perforated) are the dominant tent card sheets, and 5305 (10-up flat) covers the flat format. Built-in templates exist in Word for all three. Generic 6-up and 8-up place card sheets are available from stationery suppliers and work with the same templates if dimensions match.

For premium events, blank pre-cut card stock at 250gsm or heavier is widely available and prints cleanly from manual-feed printers.

Going deeper

For end-to-end wedding place card production, see how to make wedding place cards at home. For the format choice, see tent cards vs flat place cards. For free templates and sources, see free printable place card templates, and for bulk runs from a guest list see the mail merge guide. Place card sizes and folding styles covers the dimension references, and the Avery place cards guide maps SKUs to formats.