Having a menu card for an event elevates the occasion and honors the celebration or the person being feted. It also lets guests know what to expect. With the date and the occasion printed on the card, it can become a keepsake for your guests, too.
Menu cards are printed vertically and are approximately 5" x 8" in size, give or take a few inches in each direction. I have my menu cards custom made using white, 110-pound stock, with a black image of Fox Hall printed on the top and center. The cards are 4 1/4" wide x 5 1/2" high. I use these cards as menu cards, as well as for impromptu notes. I specify rounded corners, which I adore, as they are quite prevalent in Europe, and most aesthetically pleasing to the eye! Menu cards are traditionally printed in black ink, and occasionally gold or a color to complement the design on the card.
The menu card is placed either on the table to the left of the forks, on the butter plate (sans butter), or on the dinner plate. It may also be set in a holder, so that it stands up. If using a holder (similar to a place card holder), it may be placed above either the dinner plate or the butter plate, centered.
If you are going to have menu cards, remember that each guest receives one at their place setting. It is a thoughtful gesture to offer one as it allows your guests to see in advance what will be served, adding to their eager anticipation! It also alerts your guests to potential food allergies they may have. (On that note, as a gracious guest, it is your responsibility to alert your hostess prior to the date of the event of any allergies that you may have.)
I like to add the year to the date printed on my menu card, so that I too, can remember when the event took place... it always seems like it was just yesterday!
We have three darling friends who share almost the same birth date as my husband in April, which is the zodiac sign of the Ram. Hence, I named them the "Rambunctious Rams" for their unruly, albeit formal, celebratory dinner each year! Yes, Stuart, my husband, delights our guests with a firework display at many of our dinner parties. Our guests adjourn from dinner and enjoy the fireworks on the terrace while viewing them from above on our verandah at Fox Hall.
This menu card represents a momentous and memorable dinner at Dr. and Mrs. Paul R.C. Sullivan's elegant house. Stuart and I met, for the first time, the CEO of CPTV public television, Jerry Franklin on this evening, where I was seated next to Jerry at dinner. I like to think of this dinner as not only a splendid occasion but also as a most serendipitous event for me. Eventually, this dinner party led to working with Jerry and CPTV to create my PBS television series, You Are Cordially Invited. We even filmed the pilot episode at the Sullivan house, concluding at that very same dining room table!
Here are two examples of royal menu cards that I wanted to share with you.
