You'll often find us marvelling at creative table numbers made from wooden cutouts and glittered lettering, but the options really are endless when it comes to wedding table names too - there's no reason why you have to stick to simply Table 1 and Table 2. Fun table names are a great way to add personality to your day, or echo your wedding theme, and they're one detail that you can be sure your guests will remember - after all, they will be spending a lot of time at that table! It's an area where you can really let your imagination run wild, so we put together a list of the Best Table Name Ideas to get you started!
A Table Plan That Tells Your Story
This is a fun opportunity to tell your guests about all the adventures you've been on with your other half. Even if they already know your anecdotes inside out, it's a cute way to remind them!
1. Countries or Cities: This one is simple - a list of places where you've lived as a couple or visited on holiday together.
2. Street Names: Addresses of homes you've lived in together, or places where you've had a special date or reached a milestone.
3. Local or Important Landmarks: These can be famous places in your home town where you hang out, or landmarks from a city that holds a special place in your heart. Lots of outdoorsy couples include the names of their favourite beaches or mountains they've climbed together.
4. Timeline of Photographs: This is a particularly nice idea for couples who have been together for a long time - the story of your relationship, told through a timeline of photographs. If your relationship is relatively new, you can use baby pictures and school pictures from before you met, too!
5. Significant Dates: This should be a quick list to compile - the significant days, dates and years from your time together, which can be accompanied by a little story or some photographs.
6. Pets:Â If you have a small number of tables (or loads of pets!) you can use your fluffy family for this one! You can also use pets you each had as a child, which will be especially fun for your family members!
7. Nods to your homeland: If you and your partner are from different parts of the world, you can use this to your advantage, as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry did. They named their tables after words that Americans and British people pronounce differently - potato, tomato and oregano, etc.
Table Name Ideas For Music Lovers
Most couples have songs, albums and bands that have special significance in their relationship, and if you've attended a lot of gigs together, all the better!
8. Song Names: Songs that mean something to you as a couple are best, but another option is to use titles of romantic love songs (just not too many tearjerkers - it's a party, remember!)
9. Song Lyrics: A few lines from your favourite songs or well-known love songs can have a big impact. Simply print them on cards and put them into affordable frames (Ikea, Flying Tiger and Sostrene Grene have lovely ones), or go all out and commission a calligrapher or stationer to write them for you.
10. Musical Instruments: This one is great for musical couples - a list of instruments as table names.
11. Album Names: For a vinyl collector or music aficionado, an album is a cool way to represent a table name. Real wedding couple Claire and Ollie used vinyl records by ACDC, Elvis Costello and The Monkees for their rock'n'roll themed wedding and it worked a treat!
12. Festivals and Concerts: A list of memorable gigs or festivals you've attended together - you could even frame the tickets if you still have them!
Wedding Table Name Ideas for Avid Readers
If you're an enthusiastic bookworm who loves to recommend interesting reads to friends and family, you probably have lots of books that have a special meaning for you and your other half!
13. Famous Authors: Use your favourites to give people an idea of your literary tastes!
14. Favourite Books: These can be beloved childhood reads, all-time faves, recent discoveries or a mixture of all three! You could even order copies of each book for the table.
15. A Beloved Book Series: Think Harry Potter, The Famous Five, The Lord of the Rings, etc.
16. Literary Duos: Given that it's the most romantic day of your life, you could pick your favourite love stories from literature, like Romeo and Juliet, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.
17. Lines of Poetry: These can be as famous or obscure as you like and could be mixed in with the song lyrics from idea #8.
18. Witty Quotes: Borrow the words of famous writers, philosophers or comedians.
19. Colloquial Blessings or Sayings: Here in Ireland, we have a wealth of expressions to draw from - some meaningful, some hilarious! - but this one works no matter where you're from.
20. Slang Words: This is a personal favourite of mine, and it can be accompanied by definitions for your international guests! It works for all couples, but Irish lovebirds might choose old chestnuts like, "Acting the maggot", "Jo Maxi" and "Splitting the stones."
Table Name Ideas for Movie and TV Buffs
If your perfect date night is a trip to the cinema or an evening on the couch with Netflix, these ideas will add an extra dash of personality to your big day.
20. Movie Titles: Take your table names from your favourite movies or your favourite movie series - Star Wars, Rocky, etc.
21. Movie or TV Quotes These can be classic romantic lines ("You had me at hello" from Jerry Maguire) or just your favourite iconic movie quotes. Check out Kerri and Cathal's Fr Ted wedding for inspiration!
22. Romantic Couples from the Movies: Noah and Allie, Rose and Jack, Baby and Johnny - you get the picture! You can also use platonic duos from movies and TV, like Bert and Ernie, Thelma and Louise, and Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock! To take this idea to the next level, get a graphic designer to Photoshop you and your other half into pictures of the fictional duos, like real wedding couple Sandra and Seán did!
23. Movie Icons: I love the idea of naming your tables after your favourite leading ladies and leading men, we're thinking classic Hollywood icons like Garbo and Astaire, but if you want Schwarzenegger and Clooney, who are we to object?
24. Superheroes or Action Figures: For something a little bit cool and offbeat, you could use action hero figurines from childhood or pictures of superheroes from recent blockbusters to name your tables.
25. Monsters and Movie Villains: Love sci-fi? Why not name your tables after some iconic aliens, zombies, or other famous movie baddies? If you're using figurines, you can even look forward to a Godzilla/King Kong face-off on the dancefloor after the meal!
26. Favourite TV Programmes: This is a sure-fire way to get your guests chatting. Bagsie the Queer Eye table!
Table Name Ideas for Food and Drink Lovers
27. Favourite Pubs or Restaurants: Iconic pubs of Dublin is a popular one here in Ireland, but there are lots of ways to twist this - your favourite barmen, perhaps?
28. Desserts, Sweets or Cakes: If, like every single One Fab Day employee, you're a sucker for sweets, this is a cute way to put your faves to good use.
29. Beer, Cocktails, Gin or Whiskey: This is a really easy one to do and is a great excuse to drink some of your favourite alcoholic beverages! Use empty bottles to identify your table or print out recipe cards for your favourite mixed cocktails.
30. Wine or Cheese: Pick your favourite wine or cheese variety, or pair them if you love them both equally.
31. Coffee or Tea: If you love experimenting with new coffee varieties or tea blends, this is a great excuse to share them with your guests. You could even fill a container with little samples of each for your guests to take home!
32. Favourite Recipes: For this one you can use dishes you both love, dishes you often cook at home, dishes that have special meaning (what you ate on your first date etc.) or well-loved family recipes. You could print out your favourites and frame them on each table, or give a copy to the guests as a favour.
Table Name Ideas for Sports Fans
33. Favourite Players or Coaches: Table names are a great place to pay tribute to some of your sporting heroes, and if they're legends from years gone by, it'll give your guests a lovely hit of nostalgia!
34. Iconic Stadiums: This is a great idea if there's one sport in particular that you're devoted to - a list of iconic stadiums in your own country or around the world, with an illustration or picture of each.
Table Name Ideas Based on Hobbies
35. Transport: You can have so much fun with this one! If you're a lover of cars, trains, boats, bicycles or motorbikes, you can name your tables after your favourite makes and models using photos, illustrations or, if even models if you've got a collection.
36. Lego: Lego makes everything more fun! While Lego escort cards have become popular in the past couple of years, you could simplify matters by naming your tables after different Lego themes - Star Wars, Batman, Lego City, Lego Technic, etc. - and leaving a small set on each table for your guests to mess around with.
37. Board games: If you've got a collection of board games at home, why not use them to identify your tables? It'll certainly get your guests mingling between courses!
Simple and Chic: Easy Table Name Ideas
38. Animals: Name your tables after animal, be they farm, wild or domestic! You can also incorporate some décor, like toy animal figurines spray-painted in your chosen metallic or dipped in glitter! (Birds are a popular choice, and look really pretty in illustrations).
39. Potted Plants and Herbs: Potted plants and herbs are great ways to bring some greenery into your dining space without spending too much cash. To use them as table names, simply write their names onto chalkboard signs.
40. Flowers: Use these in the same way as potted plants, or ask your florist to help create some special centrepieces!
41. Letters: You probably won't get all the way from A to Z, but this is a clever idea for fans of graphic design. You could also use vintage letters from storefront signs, which you can sometimes pick up at thrift stores!
42. Numbers:Â This is the simplest way to give a title to your tables. You'll find loads of ideas for creating cool table numbers in this post.
43. Colours: Use colours, shades, jewel tones or metallics as table names and give yourself permission to go wild with the dining space décor!
Wedding Table Names - What to Remember
Of course you can stick with numbered tables and still have a perfectly fabulous wedding reception, but if you're going to put time, effort and/or budget into creating statement table names, there are a few things to remember.
- Our main advice is to choose something that reflects you as a couple, your personalities and interests! If you're devoted movie buffs or you love nothing more than experimenting in the kitchen, this is another element of your story that you can carry through on your wedding day, and your guests will love it!
- The second thing to keep in mind is your table plan, which should work in harmony with your table names, matching them in tone and design, as well as theme! To see how real couples styled their table plans, click through on the images above or check out our real wedding archives.
Wondering how to style the rest of your reception space? You'll find lots more wedding décor inspiration here and be sure to follow us on Instagram!