I don’t know why I thought finding a free template for place cards for the wedding would be a good idea.
You’d think I’d have learned after the DIY invitation fiasco.
But I didn’t.
I spent way too much time online trying to find a decent template in the right colors that looked fancy enough for our trying-to-be-fancy-even-though-we’re-not wedding.
Eventually I got sick of it.
I decided to make my own.
From start to finish I was done in ten minutes. It was so easy I don’t know why I didn’t think to do it before.
If you like the template I’ve got going on here, feel free to download it and use at will. If not, you can check out tons of different color options in the Etsy shop.
Subscribe to Download the Blue Place Card Template for FREE!
Open up Microsoft Word.
Select “Create a New Document,” and search for “Place Cards” in the template search.
Select “Clouds design, fold-over style, 4 per page.”
Open it.
Select the background.
Select the background on each of the four place cards and delete. Under “TABLE TOOLS” select the DESIGN tab. Under that tab to the right you will see all the border options. Click on the arrow in the drop down box that says “No Border.” Select some type of dashed or dotted line border so you will know where to cut the cards.
Go to PicMonkey.
PicMonkey is super-easy-to-use, online photo editing software.
I have a subscription for work, but you can use the free trial option to access it for free as you edit your wedding templates.
If you fall in love and need it in your life, you’ll save $12 off a regular subscription and $20 off a Pro subscription by signing up here.
Once you’re in, select “Create New” and then “Blank Canvas.”
Select “Background Color” under the “Edits” menu.
You will find this menu on the right-hand side of your screen.
Click on the pallette option on the left. There should be an option beneath the colors to click “Transparent.” Select it.
Go down to the Square, Circle, Triangle image on the left.
These are your Graphics.
Pick an appropriate graphic for the border surrounding the name on your place card.
For our wedding, the best options were under the “Scrapbooky” category.
Pick your overlay and put it on the big white box. Resize it to make it kind of big relative to that big white box.
Change your graphic’s color to match your theme.
You can change the color by having it selected, and then clicking on the color you want in the little pop-up box that shows up on the right side of the screen.
Save your image. You’re done with PicMonkey.
Return to the Word place card document.
Go to the INSERT tab, and then click on Picture –you’ll find it towards the left.
Select your PicMonkey image/design from the previous steps. Open and insert it.
Under “PICTURE TOOLS,” click on FORMAT.
In the center right-ish, click on Position, and then click on More Options. Go to the Text Wrapping tab, and select Behind Text. Click OK.
Resize and move your image/border/design thing so that it’s lined up with the names in the center. Remember, these cards will be folded in half.
Now copy the image, and paste it in the other 3 place cards, centering as you go along. The sizing should be identical across all the cards.
Edit your text.
Adjust size and font to your liking. I preferred any font that had “Script” after it for this specific event.
Edit the names to reflect who will be at your event, and print!
Cut. Fold. Done.
All that’s left to do is cut and fold your invites. I definitely used a paper cutter to help with this part of the process.
I hope your big day is absolutely beautiful! Congrats on doing it frugally without sacrificing quality!
You are becoming my to go site for my wedding planning! Thank you! 😉
Thanks, Britnee! That’s good to hear!
I never even would’ve thought of checking Microsoft word for a template! You are definitely taking thrifty wedding planning to the next level.
Is there a way to make several pages? Or did you print and then change the names out after each print? Becomes a bit of a task 🙂
Whew just rescued you from spam! Gotta love those filters….
You make a great point. It’s something I didn’t even consider as my guest list was so small. Insert page break at the bottom of the page, ctrl+A, copy and paste again and again. Shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes. How many pages do you need? I can edit and send the file to you.
26 if it isn’t too much of a hassle.
I have 104 guests lol.
I actually thought that WAS small.
Nvm. Got it! Thanks!
No problem! I’m glad it got figured out. I hope your big day is beautiful!!!! (And 104 may be small…ours was just freakishly so. :p)
Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for taking the time to write up “how to make place cards”. The level of detail is perfect for me….Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and my mom has asked me 5 times if I am bringing placecards, and I didn’t make it to the store to buy some. It took me about 1/2 hour (newer version of Word had me hunting a little). Thanks again.
Hey, 1/2 hour isn’t bad for the first time around! Especially since I’m guessing you started from scratch. Blue doesn’t necessarily fit turkey day. 🙂 I’m glad this got put to good use, and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
hello i am trying to use my own picture how did you edit the text in the picture? i am having a hard time finding how to. Thanks!
Hey, Sally! Did you download the document? If so, changing the font/words should be as simple as left-clicking anywhere in the text. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi, I am loving your site 🙂 its fantastic and keeping me organised for our wedding. I was just wondering if you knew how to halve the size of the place cards, ie, we want 8 per page instead of 4. I have messed around with Word for hours on end but can only find 4. Please help lol
I’m so glad you’re finding it helpful, Penni! And thank you for your question. Here’s the best way I know how to answer it:
-Go into Word.
-Select “New”
-In the search box above the templates, type “Place Cards.”
– So many templates pop up, including (Floral Design, 8 per page.) This is very similar to the Cloud Template I used for my own.
-Follow the above directions from #2 on.
Caveat? You won’t be able to fold them over. But you could get some fancy-looking but cheap placecard holders at any number of wedding decor retailers, or even make some yourself. (Pinterest is a girl’s best friend!) I hope that helps. Would love to see your final product. 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions! I’m always looking for reader-inspired post ideas.
Hi, we are having a formal work dinner on Thursday to celebrate St Antony’s Day and the top table require name plates and yours were the most straight forward, free, downloadable, customizable ones I could find and just wanted to say thank you. I only needed 8 and yours look very pretty.
Best wishes
Sacha
So glad, Sacha! Hope the festivities were amazing!
I love the size of these cards but I didn’t want the blue artwork as it conflicts with my wedding theme! Is there a way to get these to be plain? I tried to delete the blue design but the document will not let me!
Femme was so helpful! These placecards are going to be great for my wedding! Thank you!
Your welcome, Danielle! I know your day is going to be beautiful!
Ohhh my goodness I been searching for ages how to get name tags the way I want them to be! I seen so many tutorials on youtube but each of them been so complicated! Thank you so much for this wonderful post as now I have this what I always wanted to have!
So glad they could be of help!
Hi, thanks for the great tutorial! I’m having trouble positioning the overlay behind the text. If I move the image near where the text box is, it positions it in between the person’s first and last name and it won’t let me format it to go behind the text. It won’t let me position it anywhere else within the placecard. Any ideas?
There may be additional formatting on the template that you’re using. At least that’s my first guess! You could try to really get into the nitty gritty of the formatting, but I’d just start over using a different template. I hope that helps!
I downloaded your free template however.. I am not very tech savy and am having a hard time know where to cut and fold and how to get those “overlays” how you have in your picture where it says guest name.
Hm….that should all be in there. Just cut along the dotted lines and the overlays should already be present. Are you trying to change the overlays to something different?
This a great idea! I’m so glad I found your site. I went to Pic Monkey to find an overlay. But there is no white box. Instead they have a pre-filled beach scene. How do I either delete their scene and just get to a clean white box so I can set up my overlay?
Hi, Kaitlyn! Great question. First, make sure you’re going to the “design” option. (Should be third from the left.) There should be no beach picture! I just double checked. But even better than the white background would be checking the box in the left toolbar that says “Transparent.” That way you can put your design on any color, and the letters on your final product will be sure to show up.
P.S. That’s under “canvas color” in the left hand tool bar.
Thank you so much for these! We just printed them last night and they look great!
So glad, Leah! I hope you have a beautiful day!!!
Amazing article!!!
You’ve saved my life.
Only thing is, word refuses to show the break between the folds.
Can you help?
Sorry for the delay—you got caught up in moderation!
Is it showing any of the dotted lines at all? My guess is that something is wrong with the table settings. Under “TABLE TOOLS,” click on design, then go over to the border settings at the far right. You can adjust which borders are showing and which kind of line will be used.
I hope that helps! Let me know if I misunderstood and I’ll see if I can answer any better.
Please could you tell me if you printed these on paper or card? I want them to be quite sturdy. Thanks!
I used thick card stock, but make sure your printer can handle whatever you give it!