Using manzanita trees to hang escort cards has been an extremely popular trend the last few years.  It looks so lovely and cool in photos that if you’re already using trees in your decor, its hard to pass up.
BUT, it does pose some challenges.  First, its not immediately clear to your guests that they’re supposed to take the cards.  Hanging on the trees, they look so much like decor that your guests don’t necessarily know that these cards are vital to your seating arrangements.
Also, your guests may not be able to find their names.  The pure simple beauty of cards displayed alphabetically on a table is that your guests immediately know what to do and how to look for their name.  That does not always translate to a tree.  There is no way to simply and easily arrange cards on a tree so that your guests merely have to skim through to find their name.  If just doesn’t work that way, nor can it.  Invevitably, they will be looking card by card until they find their own (if they find their own).
So then what do you do if you’re tied to the idea of using these lovely branches to arrange your escort cards?  Well…

• You can use the branches to ACCENT the table on which the cards will be displayed.
• You can label the trees to help your guests narrow their search.
• You can use small wire hooks to create more lateral space on the tree branches, thus making it easier to hang and remove escort cards.
• You can create a seating chart, break it up into multiple sections, and hang each section on the tree….labeled of course!  So instead of one huge 3′ x 4′ foam board you would have multiple 1′ x 6″ sections!

Just remember, when it comes to seating your guests it really must be functional.  Otherwise, your guests will be confused, have to be re-directed and a seating period that should have taken no more than 30 minutes will end up pushing 60!

Happy Planning!