Place cards are such a small detail to the wedding that it’s often not a part of the wedding that people will put much thought or effort into. But a fantastic place card can actually set the scene for your table arrangement and go a long way.

Place cards are often times the first thing that people look for and see when they take their seats. 

I found these unique dried orange place cards as I was browsing online and instantly fell in love. This DIY is a great way to get an up-market and stylised look at a fraction of the cost.

Pro Tip: These dried orange place cards are especially great if you are hosting your wedding outdoors where they may be wind as it will hold the cards in place.

What you will need:

• Orange or grapefruit slices
• An oven or dehydrator
• Paper
• String

Step 1: Dry Fruit Slices

There are 4 ways to dry orange slices:

1. Bake them on low heat in the oven for a long time. This is a great method if you want fully dried oranges. Try baking them for 6 hours at 180 degrees celsius and flip them every hour. Just be sure to watch closely at the 5 hour mark.

2. Bake them on high heat for 3 hours then air dry. Bake orange slices at 200 degrees celsius for 3 hours, then let them air dry for a couple more hours before storing them in an airtight container.

3. You can also air dry these slices for a couple of days. Placing them on a wire rack can let air circulate around them and dry evenly. 

4. Using a dehydrator. If you have one at home, this may be ideal for you. Depending on the thickness of the slices, it can take between 3 to 7 hours to completely dry. 

Here is a blog more detailed instructions for oven dried orange slices.

Step 2: Get your ink on!

You can use any type of paper for this step. To get a more up-market look, you can use Vellum translucent paper (sold at Officeworks for $17.47 for a pack of 25). Otherwise you can also opt for brown craft paper for a rustic look ($5 for 12m at Kmart), or just plain A4 printing paper you have lying around your home.

You can measure and cut the paper depending on how big or small you want the paper to be. Just as a rough guide, a standard size for place card is 5.5 x 8.5 cm. Personally, I would cut mine 3 x 8 cm in size. 

Then, grab a good quality black ink pen and start writing them names down! 

If you’ve never done calligraphy or learned cursive writing, here are some tutorials to help you get started:

• LEARN MODERN CALLIGRAPHY USING A PEN! (Ballpen/Signpen)
• Cursive Writing – Letters (A to Z) | For Beginners + Worksheets to Improve Handwriting

And remember, don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect! Imperfection is totally okay and if neither of these styles are for you don’t be afraid to venture out and find another type of style that suits you. I found this YouTube channel, Charm, that has a playlist with other types of Print handwriting to help you get inspired.

Step 3: Assemble

Punch a whole through the paper, take the string and tie it through the paper and orange slice and you’re done!

If this DIY is a little too tedious for you – don’t worry, I’ve got another alternative.

You can actually buy orange slices online off Aliexpress for an affordable price. This shop I found sells 10 pieces for $1.96, making it only approximately $0.20 per piece.

One thing to remember though is that dried oranges change in colour over time. The longer you leave it, the darker it will get. So if you are buying these online, you may not get the same vibrant orange look as you would if you DIY-ed it.