 Your mom is telling you “do this”. Your cousin twice-removed is telling you “don’t do that”. A lot of wedding stationery rules have gone out the window, so we ask friends and family. This isn’t always the best idea. What is a great idea is to go with your gut. The wedding rules are truly YOURS. Because guess what? It’s YOUR wedding! Obviously, hiring a wedding stationery designer can alleviate the stress and guide you through the dos and don’ts. And since I am a custom wedding invitation designer in Denver, I’ve put together a list below specifically on the subject of invitation suites.  DO mail physical wedding invitations DON'T create an e-vite DO mail invitations 2-3 months out DON'T mail invitations more than 4 months out (unless you are having a destination wedding and did not send out save the dates) DO formally address your envelopes ("Mr and Mrs Smith") and mail them DON'T hand-deliver wedding invitations with a name scribbled on the envelope  DO put the bride's name first DON'T include too many family names (try to keep parent names on one line) DO use bold and interesting fonts DON'T use fonts that will make your invitation illegible DO include a separate RSVP card with clear information for your guests DON'T throw a wedding website at the bottom of your invitation card  DO have multiple friends and family proofread all cards in the wedding invitation suite DON'T trust your invitation designer to catch everything DO order at least 10 extra of everything DON'T underestimate your guest list — last minute additions can pop-up DO take an assembled invitation suite to the post office and weigh for postage cost DON'T guess and apply postage to envelopes beforehand Tip: If you have questions about wedding invitation etiquette contact a local stationery designer and ask! I know I am always available to help anyone out, client or no client.  For Do’s and Don’ts on Save the Dates, see my 2.27.19 blog.
3 Comments
 It’s the wedding trend that is here to stay… signage. The possibilities are limitless thanks to Instagram and Pinterest. If you don’t already have a day-of-design line item on your wedding budget spreadsheet, I recommend you add it in right now. Most articles I’ve found online suggest putting aside 8% of your overall wedding budget for wedding decor (this includes floral). I guarantee your signage decor items are forgotten until a month before the wedding, when you then end up scrambling to find table numbers at Target, a welcome sign on Etsy, and asking your sister to print the bar’s signature drink menu on her crappy 20 year old printer. Fast forward to your big day and you realize nothing matches, fonts are hard to read, and you forgot a sign for the gift table. When it comes to wedding stationery the invitations are for you and your fiancé, but the day-of paper goods and signage are for your guests.  Create a cohesive wedding day. Carry your wedding theme throughout all elements of your event. Source items that have a consistent look and feel. I use the same fonts, colors, and design elements from your save the dates and invitations to create your day-of items. If you are having a rustic wedding: get wooden welcome signs, bar signs, and table numbers. Having a modern garden wedding? Showcase a geometric seating chart, or tie place cards to a flower and set them on each guest's napkin or plate. Tip: Pass on the chalkboard signs! Unless your wedding is at a schoolhouse, stop buying/renting them. I know you can come up with something more creative than that.  Your signage should be beautiful, yet serve a purpose. Menus provide a list of the options available to your guests. Welcome signs make your friends and family feel good. Seating charts determine where everyone will sit for their meal. Signage should create a friendly environment—and people like structure—so give your guests information, but don’t overwhelm them. Below are have/have not lists. Save some money and cut out the extras. YOU SHOULD HAVE:
Tip: Your planner will help you with wedding decor. If you do not have a wedding planner, consider hiring an event design team or a custom stationery designer. Besides invitations, day-of stationery is the most popular item my clients order.  Rent whatever you can. This is another reason to begin research on day-of decor in advance. Go on local FaceBook pages and ask around for your must-have items. Contact rental companies, they sometimes have more than what is listed on their websites. I’ve just recently started to rent signage to my clients because they can be expensive to create from scratch. Plus, what do you do with all of these items once the wedding is over? Tip: Wedding and event planners are a great resource for these items. Even if you are not hiring a planner, call some companies in your area and ask if they would rent out the items in their inventory. Most will only charge a small daily fee.   Your mom is telling you “do this”. Your cousin twice-removed is telling you “don’t do that”. A lot of wedding stationery rules have gone out the window, so we ask friends and family. This isn’t always the best idea. What is a great idea? Go with your gut. The wedding rules are truly YOURS. Because guess what? It’s YOUR wedding! Obviously, hiring a wedding stationery designer can alleviate the stress and guide you through the etiquette. So since I am a custom wedding stationery designer in Denver, below I’ve put together a list of do's and don'ts specifically on save the dates to help you out. Keep an eye out… I’ll have more do's and don’ts on other stationery subjects coming later.  DO mail save the dates 6-12 months out DON'T mail save the dates more than one year out DO include the month, day, and year DON'T include a time or date range (if you are throwing more than one event) DO include your names (with last names or without ~ whatever you prefer!) DON'T put nicknames or your parents names  DO include city and state of wedding location DON'T include specific addresses DO include your wedding website DON'T include registry information DO put your PROFESSIONAL engagement pictures on your card DON'T put a selfie on your card  DO create a design that speaks to your wedding theme or vision DON'T create a design that your best friend likes because "it's pretty" DO include your wedding colors DON'T include colors that your mom likes because "they're pretty" DO have fun designing your save the date and make it YOUR own DON'T create a design because someone else told you to. tell them to go get their own wedding to plan! Tip: If you have questions about wedding stationery etiquette contact a small local business and ask! I know I am always available to help anyone out, client or no client.  I thank my lucky stars that Katie and Damon selected me to design their wedding stationery and signage. What a pleasure! They got married last Spring in St. George, Utah on May 12 at The Entrada at Snow Canyon. With the love of Spain in their hearts, Katie and Damon used the bright orange rocks and green grass to create a colorful and inviting Spanish/Southwestern-themed event.   The Wedding Invitation SuiteThe fushia, green and orange motif design on the invite was actually provided by Katie. She had used it on their save the date cards and knew right away she wanted it incorporated into her custom wedding invitation suite. We highlighted the texture of the decorative Spanish-looking font and tile-design pattern by printing the invitation and rsvp cards in letterpress on a soft ivory-toned cotton stock. The selection of shimmery bright envelopes pulled everything together to express a refined Spring wedding mood.    This fabulous bride and groom wanted the whole look and feel of their wedding to be consistent throughout, so they came back to me to create their day-of wedding stationery. To make certain all elements would come together with the day-of decor they had chosen, we implemented the same colors, fonts and design motif as used on the invitation cards. The Wedding Escort Cards Katie purchased Spanish tiles for the escort card table. Since the designs on the tiles were so eye-catching, we created simple belly bands to wrap around them with each guest’s name and table.  The Wedding Menus There would be a 3-course dinner served at the reception—food was a standout piece of the event for the couple—so they decided to place 2 menu cards on each guest table. Even though Katie and Damon knew what the meal was composed of, exhibiting a full menu with all of the details for their friends and family to read was a very considerate touch!  The Just Married Sign Instead of a getaway car, this bride and groom used a getaway cart! Katie requested a “just married” sign to hook on the back of the golf cart for their party exit. I recommended a fabric sign. Fabric is more flexible than paper and there is not a major price difference. Plus, it won’t get ruined in the rain. This signage was the perfect custom touch to end a spectacular day!    Everything wedding related takes longer than you think it will. And no, your wedding is not the only one taking place this year--so be prepared—vendors book up fast. Having custom designed stationery items created to match your event is a gradual process. The design is the fun part, but don’t forget about all the many hours of addressing, stuffing and stamping those envelopes. SAVE THE DATES Enjoy getting engaged! Show off the ring… post all over social media… shout it from the rooftops! Then, as soon as that phase wears off, start collecting ideas for your wedding theme AND save the date cards. Solidify your guest list and organize the addresses. Do you want an engagement picture on your save the date? Then you can’t print them until your photographer sends the final images. But that doesn’t mean you have to wait to hire a graphic designer. Tip: When you book a wedding photographer, also book a stationery designer. Ask your photographer to recommend an invitation artist—these two vendors usually work together often.  The only time I recommend skipping a save the date card altogether is if… 1. You have a short engagement (roughly 9 months or less) AND 2. Your big day is a destination wedding In that case, gather all of the wedding details, travel info and cost, itinerary, etc. and go straight into designing your wedding invitations. YOUR WEDDING IS IN 12 MONTHS OR LESS: Order and mail your save the date cards ASAP YOUR WEDDING IS OVER 12 MONTHS AWAY: Give yourself about 1 month to produce custom save the dates, then mail your cards about 10 months out Tip: Don’t stress about a wedding website. Guests need a date and a place, that’s it. I don’t lie when I tell you that most people don’t even look at wedding websites. Put the details into your wedding invitation suite.  INVITATIONS Custom designed wedding invitations usually take about 8 weeks to produce. So if you did not use a graphic artist for your save the dates, start the search for one about 6 months before your wedding. Tip: Have all of your ducks in a row. Send the invitation designer your wedding Pinterest board, colors, theme, etc. Make sure to have your quantity needed and your budget set.  I give all of my clients a personalized timeline for their paper goods. This way we both stay on track. The design and revision process can typically take 2-4 weeks. I produce a physical mock-up of each stationery piece—gathering paper, envelope and embellishment samples—for you to review and take home. Once all pieces are approved, printing time is 1-4 weeks: 1-2 weeks for digital printing and 3-4 weeks for letterpress, embossing or foiling. I am a Denver invitation designer—owner of a small business, so I support other small businesses and only use local printing companies. My clients love this, and are willing to pay a bit more and wait a bit longer knowing that they are also contributing to the Colorado small business community! Tip: If you are in a major time-crunch, budget more bucks for your invitations and have your custom invitation designer address, stuff, stamp and mail them for you! YOUR WEDDING IS LOCAL FOR MOST GUESTS: Mail your invitations 10 weeks out YOUR WEDDING IS A DESTINATION EVENT: Mail your invitations {at least} 20 weeks out  |
