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Napkin styles add flavor to your reception

Selecting an appropriate napkin for your reception can be a little overwhelming considering the many napkin options available now. You know you want something that is appropriate, functional and pretty but beyond that you may not have given the lowly napkin much thought. Most hotels or venues offer brides starched cotton napkins in a variety of pastel colors. That may be fine for many brides. What should you do if you don’t like the colors offered, or the quality of the napkin is not up to your standards or you just want to be unique? The answer is to rent something you do like. Linen rental companies such as The Linen House have dozens and dozens of napkin styles from which to choose.

 

Gone are the days when napkins came in white or ivory in your choice of cotton or linen. Napkins now come in all colors of the rainbow and have been made from almost every fabric you can imagine. The results of all this napkin creativity are decidedly mixed, however. What may make a stunning color statement may fail miserably in terms of functionality.   The rolled gold shantung napkin pictured at left is decorative on the outside and absorbent on the inside, the best of both worlds.  Photo courtesy of The Linen House.

 

Absorbency should be at the top of your list of good napkin characteristics. To what benefit is a beautiful napkin crafted from a delicate fabric that smears that dab of gravy instead of removing it from your lip? We’ve seen napkins made of glittery, shimmery satins and even silks. Photos of napkins made to match the chair sashes are stunning in the wedding album. Clever napkins may look wonderful but your guests will soon be asking the waiter to bring them something they can actually use.

 

The second characteristic to consider is a lint-free napkin. How disappointing to stand up after dinner to have white fuzz on the front of your beautiful black dress or suit from the cotton napkin used at dinner. Many fine restaurants and linen rental companies offer options such as black napkins, linen napkins or napkins made from blended fabrics to avoid this problem.

 

The third quality you must consider is appropriate napkin size. Your guests won’t care how adorable is the zebra print napkin if it is so small they soon exhaust all the clean space on the napkin. Napkins come in a variety of sizes for a variety of purposes. Small squares 6”x6” up to 7” x 14” rectangles make marvelous cocktail napkins. The smaller ones work well if you are serving beverages only. Bigger cocktail napkins are folded and presented as a square but open when you need more napkin real estate after the hors d’oeuvres are passed. For brunch or lunch an 18”x18” or 20”x20” square is the norm. By the time dinner rolls around, you need something more substantial. If you take your cue from the exclusive clubs or high end caterers here in Houston, you will offer your guests nothing smaller than a 20”x20” napkin. The better size for dinner is at least 22”x22” and we’ve seen fine linen napkins as large as 24”x24”. 

 

The last criteria you should consider is the napkin style. Choosing the right color and degree of formality sets the tone for the reception, assuming you can meet the other napkin functions from among your color and fabric choices. Like an overlay on a tablecloth, napkin sleeves can add a decorative touch to a functional napkin. One of our favorite napkin sleeves is a black organza fabric woven with silver metallic threads. It is simply layered over a white linen napkin and the two are tied together with silver napkin cording. This was recently used for an event where the table linens and décor were in silvers and black. The host used that napkin sleeve to unify the look. At a seated dinner with napkin sleeves, the waiter or hostess would discretely remove the napkin sleeves and ties shortly into the dinner to avoid cluttering the table.

 

Maybe you’re planning a ranch themed rehearsal dinner. Of if your wedding style is really laid back and down home, there are plenty of rustic looking but highly functional napkins available. Denim makes a very absorbent napkin that looks great on a burlap or suede tablecloth, for instance. Heavier grade bandanas or red and white picnic checked napkins add a bit of casual pizzazz to the festivities. Get creative and use strips of leather or pieces of rope as napkin ties.  Photo of napkins pictured at right courtesy of The Linen House.

 

Maybe high rise apartments and Houston light rail are more your style. Contemporary napkin designs can be full of color or stark in black or white.

 

Maybe your style can only be described as decidedly ‘you’. Don’t be timid in choosing a napkin with the color, texture and style you like to set your table. Just make sure what you choose for color or style meets the other three important criteria. Injecting your personality makes the table more interesting and more unique.

 

The four most important qualities to look for in choosing a napkin are