Before your guests hear the music, taste the signature cocktail, or find their table, they meet one thing first: your welcome sign. It's the handshake of your wedding — the moment guests exhale and think, we're in the right place, and this is going to be beautiful.
It's also, quietly, one of the most photographed objects at your entire wedding. Guests pose next to it. Your photographer frames arrival shots around it. It ends up in Instagram stories before you've even walked down the aisle. For something that works this hard, it deserves more than a last-minute decision.
The good news: getting a welcome sign right comes down to three choices — size, wording, and placement. This guide covers all three, plus the material and timing details most couples learn the hard way.
Part One: Size
The most common welcome sign mistake isn't a typo — it's a sign that's too small for the space. A beautiful 18×24" sign disappears at the entrance of a grand ballroom. Here's how to size with confidence.
The viewing-distance rule
Guests should be able to read your names from about 10–15 feet away — roughly the distance at which people naturally slow down as they arrive. That translates to:
- 18×24" — intimate weddings and tight entryways. Works when guests pass within a few feet of the sign: a garden gate, a restaurant foyer, an elevator landing. This is the minimum size we recommend for a main welcome sign.
- 24×36" — the sweet spot for most weddings. Reads clearly across a lobby, fits every standard easel, and photographs at a flattering scale next to standing guests. When couples ask "what size should I get?", this is almost always the answer.
- 30×40" — grand entrances, outdoor ceremonies, and venues with double doors or wide staircases. Also the right call if your guest count is 150+ and arrivals come in waves — a bigger sign keeps the entry moving.
If you're between sizes, go up. Nobody has ever looked at their wedding photos and wished the welcome sign were smaller.
A quick easel note
Standard rental easels hold signs comfortably up to 30×40". If you're going larger, confirm your venue or rental company has a floor easel rated for the weight — especially for acrylic, which is heavier than it looks. Wobbling signage is not the energy you want at the entrance.
Part Two: Wording
Welcome sign wording has one job: say who's getting married, warmly, at a glance. Everything else is optional. Here are the formulas that work, from most classic to most personal.
The classic
Welcome to the wedding of
Alondra & Colin
June 8, 2025
This is the standard for a reason. It reads instantly, suits every style from black-tie to backyard, and centers the two things that matter: your names and your date.
The modern minimal
Welcome
Alondra & Colin · 06.08.25
Big single word, names and date as a quiet detail line. This version pairs beautifully with bold, contemporary design — it's the wording our Moda collection couples choose most.
The warm host
Welcome to our forever
The Garcias
est. June 8, 2025
Using a shared last name (or "The Future Garcias") turns the sign into a keepsake — many couples hang it at home afterward. If one of you is changing your name, this is a lovely way to debut it.
The personality-forward
Welcome to the party we've been planning since our third date
Alondra & Colin
One playful line above the names. Keep it to a single sentence — the sign is a greeting, not a toast.
What to include (and what to leave off)
Include: your names, and ideally the date. That's genuinely it.
Optional: the location, a short line of welcome, "est." phrasing.
Leave off: long quotes, the full itinerary, hashtags, and anything guests need to act on. Directions like "sign the guestbook!" belong on a dedicated sign next to the thing itself — a welcome sign crowded with instructions stops feeling like a welcome.
Two details couples miss
Name order: there's no rule, but the near-universal convention is that the name of whoever's family is hosting goes first — and when that doesn't apply, most couples simply choose what sounds better aloud. "Alondra & Colin" and "Colin & Alondra" are both correct; pick one and use it consistently across every sign, from the welcome sign to the bar menu.
Legibility over flourish: script fonts are gorgeous for names — that's exactly where they belong. But dates, locations, and any detail line should sit in a clean serif or sans-serif. If your grandmother has to squint, the font is doing decoration's job, not communication's.
And before anything goes to print: proof it like it matters, because it does. Names, date, venue spelling — read it backwards, read it aloud, then let someone else read it cold. Our Professional Proof Review exists because after forty viewings, your brain autocorrects your own sign.
Part Three: Placement
A perfect sign in the wrong spot is a wasted sign. Three questions decide placement.
Where's the natural pause?
Guests slow down at thresholds: the venue entrance, the top or bottom of a staircase, the point where the path opens into the ceremony space. Place the sign at that pause, angled slightly toward the direction guests arrive from — not flat against a wall they'll pass in profile. If arrivals split between two doors, choose the one your photographer will shoot from.
Is it at the right height?
The center of the sign should sit at standing eye level — roughly 57–60 inches from the floor. On a standard easel, a 24×36" sign lands there naturally. If your sign is leaning against something (a vintage door, a hay bale, an ivy wall), raise it on a hidden crate so it doesn't read as an afterthought at knee height.
What's the light doing?
Late-afternoon sun directly behind a sign turns it into a silhouette; harsh side light throws glare on glossy surfaces. Walk the entrance at your actual ceremony time if you can. Two material-specific notes:
- Clear acrylic is stunning against a backdrop — greenery, drapery, florals. Floating it in open air with a busy background behind it makes the lettering fight to be seen.
- Gold mirror loves ambient light but will reflect whatever faces it — position it so it mirrors sky, drapery, or greenery rather than the parking lot.
Outdoors? Wind is the enemy no one plans for. A rigid gatorboard sign on a sturdy easel with a sandbag at the base survives gusts that will send a poster board tumbling through cocktail hour.
One sign, two shifts
Your welcome sign doesn't have to clock out after the ceremony. Have your coordinator move it to the reception entrance during cocktail hour — it welcomes guests twice and doubles the photo opportunities. If your ceremony and reception entrances differ wildly in scale, this is the one case where two sizes genuinely make sense.
Choosing the Material
Size and placement decided? Material is the final call, and it shifts both look and budget:
- Acrylic — the modern favorite. Elegant, substantial, photographs beautifully. The default choice for a statement welcome sign.
- Gold mirror — maximum glamour for formal and evening weddings.
- Gatorboard — matte, rigid, lightweight, and the best value at large sizes. Ideal outdoors.
- Poster — budget-friendly, made for framing; perfect when your venue provides beautiful easels and frames.
- Decal — transforms a mirror or window you already have into the welcome sign. Enormous impact for the spend.
The full comparison lives on our Materials guide.
When to Order
Welcome signs are RSVP-independent — nothing on them changes when your cousin finally responds — so order them early, 6–8 weeks out. Inside two weeks of your date, printed options narrow fast (that's our rush cutoff). If you're in a time crunch, a digital design delivered by email and printed locally can save the day without sacrificing the look.
The Welcome Sign Checklist
- Size matched to venue scale (24×36" for most; go up when in doubt)
- Names + date, warm and uncluttered — instructions live on other signs
- Script for names, clean type for everything else
- Name order consistent across all wedding signage
- Placed at the natural arrival pause, at eye level, angled toward guests
- Lighting checked at ceremony hour; wind plan if outdoors
- Coordinator briefed to move it to the reception entrance
- Proofed by fresh eyes before printing
- Ordered 6–8 weeks out
For the full picture of what signs your day actually needs beyond the welcome sign, start with our complete wedding signage checklist. And when you're ready to see welcome signs in your own palette, browse the Welcome Signs collection — every design comes in all four of our styles, Aria, Florence, Moda, and Reina, matched to your exact colors.