Wedding stationery is an essential part of wedding planning. Stationery usually involves a set of combined prints, that will show your family and friends that style of your wedding. It goes without saying that once you receive a wedding invitation, for example, you already imagine the event you have been invited to. For this reason is very important to choose the right stationery set as it will be the first step to announce to all guests when and where you are getting married.
What will I read in this article about Wedding stationery: all you need to know?
- What’s wedding stationery?
- How important is wedding stationery?
- Wedding stationery: a chance to intrigue your guests
- Wedding invitation suite
- Wedding Stationery you need at the wedding day
- When you should order a stationery for your wedding
- Conclusion
What’s wedding stationery?
When we talk about stationery, we do not refer exclusively to wedding invitations. The main elements of the wedding stationery are: invitations, ceremony order of service, seating plan, table numbers or names, placecards, menu, tags for favours, thank you cards and guestbook.
Whether you’re going for a traditional wedding, or something more modern, all stationery elements have to be chosen carefully, they should coordinate all together and follow the style you want to have at your event.
You can get inspired by a specific theme but also from a specific colour palette: normally the one we use for invitation is also used for flowers and all decorations.
Graphic and fonts play an important role too: I am in love with geometric style and I like to use script-like fine fonts to enhance the delicate touch of the wedding invitation.
How important is wedding stationery?
Wedding stationery is not an insignificant detail. On the contrary, it is one of the most important elements in a wedding design.
Firstly, the wedding invitation communicates much more than key informations (who, where and when). It sets the tone for your celebration giving your guests an idea of how they should dress, and what kind of day your wedding will be. It’s also a special opportunity to show your couple’s style and personality.
All the other printings that will follow – seating plan, table numbers, place cards, menu, tags for favours, thank you cards – draw a common thread throughout the event.
Wedding stationery: a chance to intrigue your guests
Decades ago the wedding invitations were really simple as they were just used to announce the date of the wedding.
Nowadays, you can play with different materials creating something special to surprise the guests. Handmade paper, cotton paper, plexiglas, carton and wood. We can choose between digital print or artisan letterpress, add a touch of glam with a cotton or silk ribbon and a sealing wax with your initials or a special design that you can reproduce to all your wedding favours and napkins.
You could customize all details of your wedding stationery with a watercolor, an artwork that represents your wedding venue or your couple, or a logo.
My personal advice is to use this logo to customize your favors and all signals that will be used during the wedding, for example for parking, aperitif and toilettes.
Wedding invitation suite
The wedding invitation suite can consist of several elements: save the date card, invitations, Rspv cards, the map card to reach the wedding venue.
Wedding invitations are essential. All others are optional. The bride and groom choose according to their taste. Let’s find out more.
- Save The Date
The Save the Date is the first clue to the style of your wedding that your guests will see. If you choose to include it in your wedding stationery set, I recommend sending out your save the dates as soon as you have booked the venue and completed the guest list.
- Wedding invitations
Wedding invitations can be designed in the style that suits your couple best. There are plenty of designs to choose from, whether your style is modern and minimal or rustic and romantic.
The invitations, theme and color scheme should fit perfectly with the wedding season and the location.
Another important step is to check the accuracy of the information. It may seem obvious but it is not. In addition to your wedding planner, share the draft invitations with someone you trust as well to make sure that nothing has been missed.
- Rspv cards
One of the things that stresses brides and grooms the most is waiting for confirmation of guest attendance.
Having confirmation of your guests’ as soon as possible means you can move forward with all the preparations. Sending an RSVP card along with the wedding invitation is a quick and efficient way to make sure your guests let you know if they will be present.
These are smaller cards with a check box to indicate whether or not the guest can attend. You may want to include a response date and contact information in the card.
Wedding Stationery you need at the wedding day
Besides invitations – simple or more sophisticated – there is wedding day stationery. Below you have a checklist from which to choose your essentials.
- Order of Service
The order of service is a small ceremony guide for your guests. You can include the start time, prayers or readings, the music that will be played, or any useful information. The order of service is usually placed at the guest seats or delivered by a member of the wedding party at the entrance of the ceremony. Like all other elements, the order of service should be in harmony with the rest of your wedding stationery.
- Seating plan
Table or a seating plan have a practical function, allowing guests to get organized and avoid questions on the day, but they are also a great decorative element.
- Place cards
Place cards are a very nice way to make your guests feel welcome, a little but important detail. In addition, place cards as well as the table plan are useful for defining the seating arrangement.
- Menu cards
Wedding menu cards add a delicious touch to your wedding tables and are a great way to ensure that your guests know what to expect. The design of the menu should also match the rest of the style of your wedding.
- Table numbers/names
Just like place cards, table numbers make it easy for your guests to find their seats.
You can have fun with different designs and unique supports: not only paper, but also wood and plexiglass.
- Thank you cards
A thank you card is such a small gesture, but it will have great meaning for whoever receives it. Thank your loved ones for their presence and gifts.
- Guest book
The guestbook is optional, but it is a sentimental and fun part of a wedding. Guests can leave their own thoughts or wishes for the bride and groom, who will keep a beautiful memory of their big day.
When you should order a stationery for your wedding
I know very well how important printing is as my couples, coming from all around the world, start thinking about that as soon as they decide to hire me, so we start working together also on these details.
From the start of the planning process, it is important to determine the style and design of the wedding stationery by defining it according to the season, venue and personality of the newlyweds.
Then you will proceed step by step to print the stationery elements that you will need first. Closer to the big day, you will make the other elements containing all the updated information, such as the menu or the time of the ceremony.
Conclusion
Your wedding stationery is one of the most important part of your wedding plan.
Deciding on printing methods, paper types, colors, styles, fonts and of themes can be tricky. If you think that this job is too much for you, leave it to experienced hands.
I guide and support my clients in choosing every detail of their big day, including stationery.
So grab a coffee, take a look at some of the stationery from weddings I’ve planned.
