How to make place cards in Word
Word mail merge can print a place card for every guest without retyping the list. It is the classic way, and it works. It is also fiddly in three specific places, so here is the setup and where to slow down.
Start a label mail merge
Place cards are just small folded labels to Word, so the tool for the job is the label merge.
- Open Mailings, click Start Mail Merge, then Labels.
- In Label Options, pick the vendor and the product number printed on your place-card cardstock.
- If your cardstock is not listed, choose New Label and enter the card size by hand.
Connect your guest list
Keep your guests in a spreadsheet with a column for the name and, if you offered a choice, the meal.
- Click Select Recipients, then Use an Existing List, and open your spreadsheet.
- Click Insert Merge Field and drop in the name, then the meal on the line below if you want it.
- Click Update Labels so every card on the sheet copies the same fields.
Preview, align, and print
Click Preview Results and the real names fill the sheet. This is where the traps show up.
Print one test sheet on plain paper and hold it to a blank card sheet against the light. If the names sit high or off center, adjust the margins, and if the wrong card product was picked the whole sheet shifts. Once it lines up, Finish and Merge, then Print.
Skip the merge when the list is long
For a long list, the merge is a lot of setup for cards that break the next time a guest changes. Paste your names, tables, and meals into Seatwright instead and it lays out the place cards grouped by table, eight to a US Letter sheet with cut and fold lines, no product number to match.
Word wins if you want one custom card design and you have the template dialed in already. A list tool wins when you just need one clean card per seat and the list is still moving.
Related reading
How to make place cards at home
You do not need a calligrapher or a craft store run. A home printer, a stack of cardstock, and a straight edge will get you a full set of place cards in an afternoon.
How to make a seating chart in Word
Word is where a lot of people try to turn the plan into paper. It can do it, with a table for the chart or mail merge for the cards. Here is the method, and the part that quietly eats an evening.
Keep going
Place cards
Place cards sit at the seat itself. Seatwright groups your guests by table and prints one card each, with the meal choice underneath the name if you added one.
Escort cards
Escort cards tell each guest which table to find. Seatwright sorts your whole list A to Z and lays it out as tent cards, so the entrance table stays easy to scan.
Wedding
The seating took weeks. The paper should take an afternoon. Paste your final list and Seatwright lays out the whole day-of set at once.
Corporate banquet
Awards night, team dinner, or annual banquet. Paste the roster and print escort cards, table signs, and a chart at once.
Questions
Can you make place cards in Word?
Yes, with mail merge. Start a label merge, pick the product number on your cardstock, connect your guest spreadsheet, insert the name field, update the labels, and print. Run a test sheet first so the names land centered.
Which template do I pick for place cards in Word?
Match the product number printed on the box of place-card cardstock you bought, since that is what sets the card size and spacing. If it is not in the list, use New Label and type in the card dimensions by hand.
How do I add the meal choice to each card?
Add a meal column to your spreadsheet, then Insert Merge Field for the meal on the line under the name. It prints chicken, beef, or vegetarian on each card. A list tool does the same from a third column with no field to place.
Paste your list, see it laid out
When the plan is done, Seatwright turns your guest list into the whole day-of paper set in one pass.
Start freeFree to preview. One payment per event to print.