YOU SAID YES! WHAT NEXT?
It's time to choose some beautiful wedding stationery to help you spread the good news and set the tone for your wedding day. If you've never done this before it could be a little daunting and knowing where to start might feel overwhelming. We’ve broken it down so you can be confident you’ve considered everything you need to know to get started.
THE GUEST LIST
Before you begin collecting ideas and prices put together a rough guest list. It doesn’t have to be set in stone but you should know approximately many invitation suites you’re going to need. Most stationers work on an economy of scale, meaning the more invitations you order the more affordable they'll become!
Keep in mind that not every guest requires their own invitation. As a rule, you only need to send one invitation per household / couple / family.
BUDGET
Have a good think about your stationery budget before you start looking into quotes. If you are wanting to be modest with your spending collection designs are an excellent way to make your budget stretch a little further. Collection designs are invitations that can be personalised through colour and wording while maintaining the overall pre-designed look and feel. Another way to save some of your hard earned dollars is to collect RSVPs through an email address rather than printing a card which your guests have to return.
If you are willing to spend a little more you could consider a bespoke design, custom made to your specific brief. There are also lots of options available to help customise collection designs such as letterpress, adding gold foil or envelope liners.
TIME CONSTRAINTS
If you’re planning your wedding in a hurry there are ways to speed up the invitation process. The fastest way to get your invitations in the post is to choose a collection design which is ready to be personalised and printed within days. Even faster would be to send the invitation digitally, rather than printing and posting. Uploading your own design to Paperless Post is a great idea which allows you to also collect RSVPs digitally as well.
STYLE
Try not to get overwhelmed by the huge range of possibility when it comes to the look and feel of your invitation suite. There is an endless palette of colours and designs out there and resources like Pinterest and Instagram will help you sift through them. When deciding on your stationery’s design consider all of the other elements of your wedding, like the venue; styling; flowers; and the bridal party's wardrobe to help you narrow it down.
INFORMATION + RSVP
If there is a lot of extra details for you to pass onto your guests you might like to keep that all on one information card? Information such as transport, accommodation, gifts and maps will all need to be considered when deciding how many cards you'll need.
Also think about how you want to collect RSVPs. Would you like your guest’s to return an RSVP card or are you happy to collect RSVP’s via email? Make sure your designer is aware of all of this information before you get started as that may impact price and design.
WORDING
The wording of your invitation is just as important as the look a feel in setting your tone. If you are planning a formal wedding let the wording reflect that. On the other hand, if you want a more relaxed feel keep wording casual and fun. Consider whether you want to use your full names or just your surnames as well as who is inviting your guests to your wedding – you or your parents/family? Keep an eye on the blog for wording examples, coming soon!
The most important part of the invitation process is that you have fun and enjoy every minute of creating your stationery! Your invitations will be the first impression your guests have of your wedding so it's important that you love whatever it is you decide on. Be sure to get in touch if you have any questions. We'd love to help out!
Photography Credit: Just For Love Photography & Film