You're doing that by hand?
A how to guide for writing your wedding seating chart
Let’s cut right to the chase. You are planning an amazing wedding and you want to dazzle your guests with every detail… enter the illustrious handwritten wedding seating chart. This is a how to guide for those DIY-ers out there and for those wedding planners wanting to know what goes into making these fine creations.
What do I use to write with?
You’ll want to use a water based marker chalk. They come in all different thicknesses and based on what you’ll be writing you’ll want to choose accordingly. For example, title sections of the mirror like “Please Be Seated” benefit from using a really thick marker as opposed to using a medium or fine point for the names of the guests.
Make sure you use a water based chalk marker and not an oil based chalk marker. Who ever is cleaning the mirror up will thank you for it if they’ve had to clean someone’s oil based writing before.
What size mirror?
The bigger the mirror the easier it is for guests to read. Mirrors can range 5ft to 9ft tall and can come from the venue itself or from an event rental company.
Once you’ve secured your mirror, the first thing to do is get the exact dimensions of the mirror. This will help your planning which leads us to the…
Layout Phase
Sketch out your layout loosely with proper dimensions. You can’t go laying out a seating chart in a square if the ratio is a rectangle.
Once you have a rough idea of what you’d like, measure out the correct proportions on the floor with painter’s tape and start sectioning off where you’re going to write with blocks of painter’s tape. Use the left and right side of the blocks of tape as rulers to see how far apart you have to space out each line. Mark and label each line with a Sharpie or marker to easily distinguish where each line begins.
Label the ends of the tape to easily distinguish what it is used for. This way, when you unroll the tape you know where it goes in the layout and you won’t have to guess. Remember to measure out the distance from the edge of the mirror as well.
Carefully roll up all your measured painter’s tape strips and place them in a box so they don’t get stuck together and unusable.
Calligraphy Phase
Arrive to your venue with all the needed equipment. If the mirrors are going to be huge, speak with the venue about bringing in a ladder or if they can provide one for you. If you are working with a event rental agency, ask them if you can arrive to their warehouse to work on the mirror prior to the event.
Where ever you end up lettering on the mirror, you should have:
Measured and labeled painter’s tape
Water based chalk markers
Microfiber towels and glass cleaner
A printed out list of names in the order you will be writing them
Extra painter’s tape
8ft ladder
Cotton gloves
Water and some energy bars
Take your measured tapes and start laying out your seating chart. If you are working on multiple mirrors, lay them all out first so you don’t waste time going back and forth between layout and writing. After setting it all up, put on some cotton gloves. “Why gloves,” you might ask. So you don’t get your greasy mitts all over the mirror. When you want to provide your clients with high quality work you don’t want to leave handprints on the mirror’s reflection. If you don’t use gloves you can always go back and wipe away handprints you left along the way, but that takes extra time to do.
Once you are done lettering, carefully remove all the painter’s tape and look for any missing details or smudges that may need addressing. After everything is buttoned up… CONGRATULATIONS!!! You’ve got yourself a beautiful set piece for one of the most amazing days of your life!
We hope this clarifies what goes into creating one of these beautiful seating charts and if this seems like a lot of work and you are in the Austin/Dripping Springs area, you can always reach out to us if you’d like us to do your wedding seating chart, welcome signage, or personalize your wedding favors! If you are an event or wedding planner, send us a DM, we enjoy networking!