WEDDING STATIONERY TIMELINE TIPS

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