There are a million things to plan and think about when you’re organizing your wedding, and when you’re new to it all, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. There’s a good chance you’ll have heard the term ‘wedding stationery’ being thrown around in magazines and blogs, but what exactly is it? What does it include, how important is it, and what other things are there to consider? Here is your wedding stationery 101 guide, to tell you everything you need to know.
Wedding stationery includes all of the paper based products you need for your wedding. Wedding invites, save the date cards, RSVP’s, place cards, table numbers and thank you cards are all commonly used. However, there are lots of other types of wedding stationery you might need too. Engagement party invites, ‘will you be my bridesmaid’ cards, wedding/reception programs. Even the guest book could be considered as part of your wedding stationery. Exactly which pieces you will need to depend on your budget, and how casual/ formal your wedding is. For example, many couples will want to send out official wedding invites and save the date cards, but be happy to invite people to the engagement party via phone call or social media. If you’re throwing a more formal wedding or have a bigger budget, a wedding program for guests could be a good way to go. More casual weddings or those with a smaller budget may choose to skip this entirely.
How Important Is The Design?
Your wedding invites are what your guests will see first regarding your big day. Therefore you want the design to make an impact, and a good impression when it drops through their door. Don’t just go with the first design you like the look of, spend some time researching the different options available. You could have a designer put together a custom design. Or if you know how to work your way around Photoshop, you could even make them yourself and have them professionally printed. Alternatively, you could choose a pre-made design from a company which will be personalized with your details. Decide on your wedding theme colors early on, as then you can incorporate them into the design. For example, will you be going for cute, girly and vintage? Cool monochrome, fairytale or something else entirely? Regardless of what you pick, this can be transferred through to the design of your invites. The design is important as not only is wedding stationery functional, but it allows you to wow your guests, give them a sneak peek at what’s to come and show your personality.
What Do I Write?
When it comes to the text in your wedding invitations, it can be a good idea to get inspiration online. Have a look what others have written and how, and spend some time wording and playing around with it until you’re happy with how it sounds. Don’t just use boilerplate text particularly if it doesn’t really sound like you, you want it to be personal to you after all. If you have a lot of information you need to get across, consider setting up a wedding website. Then you can keep your invites clean and simple, and cover anything else on the site. This could be everything from directions to the venue to whether or not children are allowed to attend. As with things like brochures and thank you cards, have a look around first for different ideas on how to word or lay them out before making the decision for yours.i
How Much Will It Cost?
The good thing about wedding stationery is it can cost as much or as little as you like, so it’s easy to work into any budget. Of course, high end, luxury stationery printed on the finest paper with gold leaf detailing is going to set you back. But you can get stunning designs for a lot less, and so be sure to shop around. Another cost to consider is the price of sending it. In regards to invites, RSVP’s and thank you cards most of these will be going through the post. If you’ve chosen very weighty paper complete with elaborate extras such as ribbons or gems, these are going to be heavier and therefore more expensive to send. So something worth bearing in mind when you’re drawing up the overall budget for your wedding. To save costs, you could always send a more elaborate version printed on more heavyweight paper to very close friends and family who will more than likely want to keep a copy. And have a more simplified version sent out to everyone else.
Are There Any Non-Traditional Alternatives?
Simple paper wedding stationery is a good way to go, as it’s generally lightweight and will give you a lot of flexibility in the design. But there are plenty of other cool ideas you can use for your wedding stationery instead. For example, ‘save the date’ cards could be sent out in magnet or coaster form. This means your wedding reminder will be out in your guest’s homes, rather than just put away with other paperwork! For a super casual alternative (which will also save on printing and postage costs) you could email things like invitations and thank you cards to guests instead. It’s, of course, more traditional to send a paper version, but it’s your big day- you can do whatever you like!
Your wedding stationery will be used from when your send out your invites, all the way through the wedding right through to the thank you cards after the big day. And so don’t rush the decision, this is a design you’re going to be seeing a lot of throughout your wedding planning journey and getting married.