The Signage Guide

Most people order wedding signage once in their life, with no reference for what size anything should be or what the materials actually look like in a room. This is what we would tell you if you were standing in the workshop.

Which sign sizes to order

Start here.

Sign Usual size Notes
Welcome sign A1, 841 × 594mm A2 for a smaller venue or a table-top sign. Anything bigger becomes a custom piece.
Seating chart, to 120 guests A1, 841 × 594mm A1 and A0 are both common, so if your list is borderline, go up.
Seating chart, to 250 guests A0, 1189 × 841mm Or individual tiles.
Table numbers 200 × 150mm Smaller arched formats at 140 and 100mm tall for busier tables.
Order of the day A3 or A4 A3 on an easel, A4 on a table.

The rule underneath all of this: guest names on a seating chart want to be at least 12mm tall, and anything a guest reads while walking wants to be readable from two metres. If the content will not fit at that size, the sign is too small.

Materials, and what they actually look like

Gloss acrylic

Reflective and sharp. It reads as modern and it holds colour well. The trade-off is that it picks up fingerprints and reflects whatever is in front of it, which occasionally means a photographer.

Matte acrylic

The same colour range without the reflection. It photographs more evenly than gloss, particularly under direct light or flash, and it hides handling marks. If your photographer is using flash indoors, matte is the safer choice.

Mirror acrylic

Gold and silver. The finish that changes most depending on what surrounds it. Against greenery and candlelight it is warm and soft. Under bright white venue lighting it can be stark. Worth thinking about what is going behind it.

Frosted and clear

Both let the lettering appear to float, but they behave very differently depending on what is behind them. Clear reads the background sharply, so it wants a clean wall, greenery or a window. Frosted diffuses the background into a soft blur, which makes it the better choice against a patterned wall or a busy room. If you love the floating look and your background is busy, frosted is the answer.

Timber and MDF

Warmer and less formal. Suits barns, gardens and anywhere the styling leans natural. MDF that comes pre-laminated in melamine gives a clean painted-looking face straight off the sheet, which is often better than painting raw MDF yourself.

Why layered lettering matters

Laser cut script lettering standing proud of a sign panel and casting a soft shadow

There are three ways text gets onto a sign, and they do not look the same.

Printed is flat. It is the cheapest and it looks it, particularly in photographs, where a printed sign reads as a piece of paper behind glass.

Cut vinyl is applied on top and has a slight edge to it. It is a good option on mirror, where the reflectivity does the work, and it lets us apply text to surfaces that cannot be layered.

Layered acrylic is lettering cut as separate pieces and bonded onto the panel, so the text stands physically proud of the surface. Under venue lighting it casts a soft shadow behind each letter. That shadow is the reason a layered sign photographs the way it does, and it is what people are responding to when they say a sign looks expensive without being able to say why.

Shapes

Rectangular is standard. Arched suits nearly every styling. Circles, scallops and custom silhouettes are all cuttable, so if your stationery has a shape, it can carry through to the signage.

Size does not restrict shape. For pieces larger than the laser bed we cut the outline with a router and other tooling before the lettering goes on, so a two metre arched sign is as available as an A1 one.

One thing to know: a shaped sign needs a stand or easel that suits it. An arched panel on a narrow easel can look unstable even when it is not.

Displaying your signs

  • Easels are the default for A1 and A2. Many venues have them, so ask yours before buying one.
  • Table top suits A3 and smaller, on a plinth, a stack of books or a stand.
  • Standoff fixings give a floating look with a shadow gap, for anything mounted to a wall.
  • Freestanding stands come with our table numbers as a detachable acrylic base.
  • Installation is worth it for large format and multi-panel displays. We do this across Adelaide.

When to order

Standard signage takes one to two weeks to make once you have approved the design, and approving the design takes as long as it takes you to reply to a mockup.

Order standard signage four to six weeks out. For a large custom commission, allow two to three months, since those can take a month in production alone.

One caveat specific to seating charts: they are the last thing that can be finalised, because they depend on final RSVPs. Get the design locked in early and hold the names back. That way the only outstanding item at the end is the list itself.

A few things worth knowing

  • Colours vary slightly between acrylic batches. If you are ordering pieces separately over months, mention it and we will account for it.
  • Order a spare table number or two. Tables get added late far more often than they get removed.
  • Mirror acrylic scratches more easily than gloss. Keep the protective film on until the day.
  • If we cut from your designer's file, send it to us early. Finding out a font will not cut is far cheaper before you have paid for the artwork.

Where to go next

Still unsure about something? Ask us. We would rather answer a question now than remake a sign later.