Place cards and seating charts are the two areas of wedding decor where the Internet has the potential to drive you completely bonkers. Every day new ideas for these two simple things pop up, and they’re beautiful and lovely… and cost approximately a million dollars to create, when you get down to brass tacks. Or, the seating chart of your dreams turns out to have been made by a team of designers with access to more tools than you have names for.
So we asked Michelle Edgemont if she could come up with a modern, sleek seating chart without needing a design degree, or any fancy supplies, and she turned out this amazing faux stained glass seating chart. A seating chart is essential for showing folks exactly where to go (and for keeping tough family dynamics in check), and this one can be scaled up or down, done in any color under the sun, and the geometric possibilities are endless!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Large piece of Plexiglass
- Painter’s tape
- Liquid acrylic paints (you can also use stained glass paint and forgo the Elmer’s glue)
- Elmer’s Glue
- Large paint brush
- Plastic tupperwares for mixing paints
- Sharpie
Steps:
1. Tape off your design. Plan the design of the escort card board to have the same number of sections as tables as your wedding. So if you have ten tables, you’ll need ten sections. The names will be written on the other side of the Plexiglass. This means that the side you are taping and painting is technically the back of the escort board.
2. Mix each color of paint with one part paint, one part glue, and a tablespoon of water.
3. Paint each section with a different color. Try not to have two sections of the same color next to each other. Let the paint create natural brush strokes and pools of color.
4. Let dry and remove the tape. You can clean the edges if needed with a wet Q-tip.
5. Write the table numbers and names on the other side of the board. Sharpie marker is easily removed with a Magic Eraser (found in the cleaning section of the store), so that you can change the seating assignments at the last minute.
If you want to go for an even more authentic looking stained glass, you can outline your sections in black stained glass paint. Or go crazy using All The Colors and make your own Tom Fruin-inspired seating chart. As long as people know where to sit, you can’t go wrong.
