Designing the Table around Connection
For the first time in our new home, my husband and I are hosting Thanksgiving - bringing together our two families under our new roof. Naturally, I decided to design a menu for our table, inspired by the toile patterned dining chairs (originally upholstered by my husband’s mom!) that we’ll be sitting at. But it didn’t end there.
Because I didn’t want to design a menu just to design a menu. I wanted it to serve a purpose that went beyond a pretty piece of paper. I wanted it to help tie the different members of our family together at the table - to make people feel seen and special, and perhaps start a new tradition in this new space, centered around the Thanksgiving theme of gratitude. And so, I decided to use the back of our beautifully designed menus as pre-printed place cards with each guest’s name, with enough space below for us to write a hand-written note to each guest, expressing our gratitude to them. A pretty piece of paper that might otherwise get thrown away is immediately transformed into something to be treasured and saved.
And I share this because, whether or not you work with me on your wedding stationery, I want to invite you to bring this same kind of thinking into your wedding table, or even your next dinner party. I want you to consider how you can use your stationery not just to convey information and offer beauty (although those things are important, too!) but also to bring your guests together in these increasingly divided times. I want you to consider how you can design your table around the theme of connection.
There are so many ways you can do this - some I’ve explored with past clients, some I’ve seen online and just love. I invite you to steal any and all of these!
Hand-written notes to each guest serving as place cards
A story on the back page of the menu sharing how the couple met
Polaroid photos of each guest serving as a place card
Cocktail napkins with an inscription of the first text message shared between a couple
Conversation topics written onto every table number based on where you seat people
You get the idea! While there is no need to go overboard here, I highly recommend thinking about how you can weave in a little more intention and a little more connection into your next event. I promise you’ll thank me later.