This blog post tells you all about wedding stationery for your wedding day
Save-the-date, invitations, reply cards, thank-you and menu cards, drinks cards, place cards, table cards and church booklets. Ready for the top tips?
Stationery for the weddingday: Do it yourself or have it designed? While the DIY approach radiates rustic charm, a chic, stylish design adds the wow effects. What you choose depends on your very own style, your preferences, your crafting skills, and of course your wedding budget.
There are thousands of ideas and inspirations on Pinterest – what is your style?
Save the Date
Save-the-date cards come – like so many great trends – from the USA. The idea is that your guests know early on that they are invited to your wedding and they keep the date reserved. Most couples send this STD card long before the wedding date and official invitation.
The card contains only the most important information:
• Date of the wedding. This is especially important for the bridesmaids, grooms-men (those who are most involved) and people who need to book flights and hotels
• Maybe the motto or the dress code of the wedding
• Usually you send the cards as soon as the date is fixed, about 7-9 months or more before date
• And since you’ve already booked your wedding photographers, the whole of course adorns your photo, which we photographed during an e-session shooting.
There are nice inspirations here or here.
The official invitation of the wedding (including reply card)
The heart of the wedding parade? The invitation card (including reply card). It is the first thing your guests hold in their hands, regarding your wedding and therefore it should be true to your style. Usually, couples send the official wedding invitation 3-4 months before the appointment.
The most important information that belongs to the invitation card:
• Invitation to the wedding
• names of the bride and groom (bride left, groom right)
• Place, Date Time of the wedding
• Date for the reply of the guests
A nice gesture is if you write the names of the guests by hand
Traditionally, you do not invite to a hen party, which is simply announced, for example on the separate newsletter or on your wedding website. If you are planning activities before or after the wedding, then this is best also known on the separate card / paper.
The reply card
You keep a guest list where you keep track of who is coming and who is cancelling. If a written answer is important to you, please frank the return envelope in advance. Ask on this card, as well, if guests want help with flight booking, hotel reservation or a special menu. We recommend that you do not give the guests too much time to fill in the reply card. Three or four weeks must be enough.
A few words in terms of design: less is more! This applies to information, but also to the design of the cards. Choose a specific item, such as the top of your wedding dress, your main colour combination or the architectural advantages of your location (an illustration of the beautiful chandelier in the country house villa, for example, or a design element of the barn wedding)
To the text: It goes without saying that there should be no typing errors in the cards. Better check three times.
Place cards, table cards, menu cards
The place cards show the guests at the wedding table where they are allowed to sit. In order for guests to find their place easily, most couples organize an easel or notice board in the entrance of the location that indicates the seating arrangement. This avoids uncomfortable chaos before the meal.
Many couples combine place cards with a personalized wedding gifts. The advantage is obvious: An original place card and a personal greeting in one.
Table cards fulfill the same purpose as place cards, but ensure a freer organization: Instead of assigning each guest the place, the table cards only show who sits at which table. Guests are free to choose how they would like to arrange.
Benefits: Less lard is needed and your guests will appreciate if they do not have to rush into unknown realms.
The disadvantages: The successful seating arrangement, the mix and the exchange among unknown people is exactly what makes wedding evenings interesting. Grouping is preprogrammed.
Menu and drinks cards
The most popular card during the wedding evening? Clearly the menu and drinks menu card. All guests are happy if they are allowed to read which food is available. The menu card describes the sequence of dishes, regardless of whether there is a buffet or à la carte menu. On each table should be enough menu cards. You can also write or print a card for each guest.
Drinks show which drinks are available. Most couples limit the choice of drinks, which makes sense. There are usually a few good wines to choose from.
Church books, program booklets for the wedding day
The church books make sure your guests know what’s going on during the wedding ceremony. They provide information about the process of the weddingday and notes about the hymns.
Program booklets inform your guests about all program items, if you wish. Do not forget that a wedding day is a really joyful day. Everyone is in a good mood, fun and so time goes by very quickly. Helpful is a program booklet so that the wedding party knows what to wait for and what happens next.
Thank you cards
What will people remember? – except the wedding photos and videos of course. The first and the last impression.
The last impression of your big day is your thank-you card, and you should pay special attention to it. Giving presents is funny, writing thank-you cards, a little less.
Nevertheless:
With a nice thank you card you express gratitude to your guests. On the one hand for participation and gifts, on the other hand, more importantly, you once again express your appreciation. It is especially nice if you personally address your thank-you cards or write them in handwriting.
The thank you cards should be sent out pronto after your honeymoon. Do not let too much time pass. If you wait too long, your guests may wonder if their gifts have arrived, especially if they have selected gifts from an online wish list.
Tips from the wedding photographer:
Start early. Do you remember the guest list from the invitation card? Now you are grateful that you have a written list with all the guests, that’s how nobody forgets. It is best to add a column with the gift on this list, so that you know exactly who gave what and you can give adequate thanks.
Another tip: Before you start writing, create the perfect personal text of thanks. As soon as the basic text sits, the writing goes by itself. Personalize money gifts, for example, by writing for what you want to use the money. You want to turn your bathroom into a spa palace? Then that express it. Every guest is very happy about a nice, personal message.
Important: Please note before buying the wedding paper
Those who know us as wedding photographers know that we are aesthetes and value great work. That’s why we’d like to give you some tips to make sure your wedding stationary is of the highest quality.
• Before you buy, you need samples and specimen copies. That’s no question for reputable providers. So you get a sense of quality and feel of the paper types
• Order these patterns early
• Remains true to your motto also in stationery; if you marry in the forest, then no beach motives will fit – integrate your colours into the cards.
• Inform yourself about the delivery times of the manufacture and allow enough time
Now you know everything that is important about wedding stationary. But wait a moment: what text should you write on the cards?
This wedding plaza page dedicates an entire rubric to the topic. Go check it out!
And by-the-way, we’ve read something interesting about another trend coming to us from the UK and the US. There, the newly-weds send wedding photos as Christmas cards. Very clever, because this is the ideal way to thank your guests again, to share your wedding pictures and to stay in their memory.
