I knew I wanted to have our tables named after all the places where Justin and I have special memories. (Yes, even in Atlantic City! Our third date—lol.) We picked dark wood bistro chairs for our reception, and a dark wood farm table for our head table, so I bought a dark stain to match. These scraps of wood are actually left over pieces from an old building project at our beach house a few years ago! And they were perfect, not only so the names could be large enough to see from a few feet away, but because they were thick enough that they stand up on their own on the tables.
I stained each piece twice and left to dry in the sun. Once they are completely dry (takes 24 hours and being stored in a dry place) you can write on them without the paint sinking in to the wood and bleeding. Pro tip: Moisture is your mortal enemy when writing on wood!