Place Settings 101

By Sophie Fleetwood

The task of creating a unique place setting for your reception can be a daunting one. Which fork goes where? How many glasses does each person need? How should the napkins be folded? These are probably just a few of the questions you may have buzzing around your mind when you think about this part of the wedding planning. Don't worry! IndyBride2B has created a small guide to help you set your table with style! Learn about different napkin folds, table settings, and get some inspiration for your own place setting along the way! 

When setting your table and designing a place setting, there are some important things to consider: 

Take time to pick out your metals first. Will you use silver or gold? Maybe even rose gold or something more unique like mixing silver and gold together? There are lots of options for your dishware.

Decide what all dishware will be used at each place. You can go with the casual place setting informal place setting, or the formal place setting. It really depends on what all the guests will be eating and drinking and how much dishware you want to be at each place setting as well as the theme and style of your nuptials. But, be careful, don't let things get too crowded!

Helpful Hint

A formal place setting would include items such as a bread plate, dessert spoon, soup spoon, etc. An informal place setting would have a less extensive list featuring only some of the essential utensils like a salad fork, dinner fork, water glass, soup spoon, dinner knife, etc, but without added utensils like the dessert spoon or bread plate. 

Photo by Bulles & Bottillons

Choose what you want to be displayed at each place setting. This can include anything from the place card to a menu, a wedding favor, a tiny bag of candy for guests to munch on, decorative items, or table numbers. 

Choose a formation for the napkin to be folded. Do you want to use a napkin ring? Will a menu be placed in the flap of a napkin? There are lots of different possibilities for this.

Helpful Hint

Some of these different napkin folds include the menu fold, the classic fold, or the long fold.

The Menu Fold         

Photo by Style Me Pretty

The Classic Fold                                                         The Long Fold

Photo by Wedding Ideas                                                           Photo by Mod Wedding

Keep balance in mind. Pay attention to the dimensions of your table and the shape. You may want to balance out a particularly long banquet table with some height in your centerpieces. Be mindful of the size of your centerpieces when considering how your place setting will fit. Make sure there is enough room for the centerpieces and for all of the dishware you will use. Nothing is worse at a reception than an overcrowded table! You and your guests will need some breathing room.

Now take a look at some inspiration for creating your perfect place setting!

Photo by Chic Vintage Brides

Photo by Ruffled Blog

Photo by 100 Layer Cake                                                          Photo by Hey Wedding Lady

Good luck creating your beautiful place settings and don't forget to click through our other helpful blogs! Happy Planning, Brides!