Look beyond the plain white china dishes shown to you by any hotel ballroom or restaurant. As their basic package, they’ll let you use their ho-hum plates for nothing, showing you their standard place settings. You can do better than that.

Today, the look in place settings is all about being  unique. That means plates and chargers with shining colored rims in a matching deep blue or red or silver, any color you could want.

Select floral patterns on the outside edges of the plates, or across the entire plate. Bold gold patterns in standout swirls and geometric designs make your plates a piece of artwork.

Couples with big budgets are arranging to have their plates monogrammed with their entwined first and last name initials.

Some of the more elaborate rental agencies have designed plates with just the first letter of your new last name. They have every letter of the alphabet in stock. Check to see if you love the style.

Rental agencies report in that the new hot look in rented chinaware, chargers, and even serving platters is square. Couples with a vision are skipping the traditional round plates to have a little something different at each guests’ place setting.

Look into other shapes, as well: ovals, octagons, even triangular plates are all making a big showing at today’s special weddings. Mix and match plate colors on each table. Make every other plate white and every other plate a deep navy blue, for instance, to give the table settings some pattern. Similarly, have one smaller patterned plate set atop a larger solid- color plate for great effect.

Clear glass plates are also all the rage, including clear glass serving platters. These might be plain and unadorned, or they might have a wonderful design ingrained, such as a spiral, maze, or geometric shapes and accents.

Pearl-edged plates are also rising in popularity. While not real pearl, the raised “bumps” give a lovely bridal look to the table setting.Gold plates are a hot look right now, so mix up shapes and go with gold platters. Silver and copper are also hot, with the metallic look very “in” for daytime to evening.

Pearlized, clouded plates rimmed in color or metallic are a dreamy way to set your table, coordinating with your chosen color scheme. .
For an outdoor wedding or cocktail reception, look for specially designed plates that have a great, handy feature: a cut-out slot built right into the plate that will actually hold their wine glass while guests enjoy the hors d’oeuvres.