Your table awaits

Oh escort cards, another one of those necessary details for our wedding. What are they? They're tags that inform guests of their table assignment. From the begining, we planned to go the traditional route of using tent cards like so:

via Girl with a Ring

I even have the mock up printed out. The names and table number on the front, and a short note on the inner

flap asking guests to share their photos with us on shared website (to be determined). But today, as we drove back from Crate and Barrel (we started a registry!), I came up with a different idea.

One Chinese wedding tradition is red envelopes which are also called lucky envelopes (or lai see in Cantonese). For major occassions such as the lunar new year, birthdays, and weddings, money is usually given as a gift. Money is never just handed over, but rather given in a red envelope.

I was struck with the desire to incorporate these in our wedding as a cultural element. But we can't just give these out (empty), some might interpret it as "hey, give us money." Buuuuuuuut, what if we use them as part of our escort cards? Like so:

via The Party Girl

The only drawback is that I won't be saving myself anytime, in fact, I'll be creating more work for myself, but I like the added touch. Not following huh? There are two issues with traditional lucky envelopes. 1) They're kind of expensive. 2) I'm not sure how I would print names on the envelopes themselves. My printer may have issues printing on the slick surface. Also, the gold ink traditionally flakes off, I can't risk ruining my printer. I could just use clear address labels, but both of us HATE them.

Are you probably at the edge of your seat wondering how I'm going to get around these obstacles? OK, I'll share. The plan is to use baby envelopes and a double happiness stamp from Paper Source.