Wedding stationery is the air we breathe in the Beautiful Letters Studio, and we are deeply committed to providing couples with beautiful, personalized design services, to celebrate in style their once-in-a-lifetime moment! Given the type of wedding you will be hosting and the extent of your festivities and celebration there are different pieces of stationery you will need! We are here to answer all your paperie questions to help you choose!
We created this post as a checklist—a guide to all the various paper elements you might need for your big day. Keep in mind, that all of these pieces can be personalized, or can be sent electronically (besides the wedding invitation itself—we still think it’s important to send guests a printed invitation).
A lot of couples, naturally, come to us with ideas from Instagram and Pinterest. However, we do think it’s very important to take into consideration who each couple is and what’s important to them when designing a wedding stationery suite. We are firm believers of that! Don’t let the of-the-moment trends lead you away from your true aesthetic and the authentic style you want for your wedding day. So, to make things easier keep on reading!
Prior to the Wedding Day
Save-the-Date Cards
There are couples who are saying no and couples who are saying a loud yes when it comes to wedding Save-the-Dates. Save-the-dates aren’t mandatory for a wedding celebration but, if you do decide to send one, it should be sent six to eight months in advance and mention the city and state of your wedding, your wedding website, and that a formal invitation will follow. Keep in mind that destination wedding save-the-dates can be sent up to a year in advance to allow your guests enough time to plan and book their travel. If you are sending formal save-the-dates, you should include the full names of your guests, but casual ones can just have your first names—given the fact that everyone knows you both well enough.
The Wedding Invitation
Outer Envelope
We are firm believers in a traditional invitation suite. This should always include an inner and outer envelope. The outer should include the recipient’s address on the front and postage stamps on the upper right-hand corner.
Inner Envelope
The inner envelope should include the title and last name of the invitees. Keep in mind that while the inner envelope is not obligatory for less formal suites, you may want to consider it if you want your guests to receive an envelope in perfect condition, as the outer envelope often gets mistreated when traveling with the post office. In the inner envelope, we love when couples opt for customized envelope liners that will give a special touch to their wedding suite. A special part of a wedding invitation is a belly Band, an optional add-on that wraps around the invitation suite to hold it all together. We love all the selections, as they can be made of paper, fabric, or ribbon, according to your wedding style.
Invitation Card
This is the main attraction of the whole concept and our favorite part. The invitation card should be the largest and most substantial card in the invitation suite. The first line often includes who’s hosting the wedding, who’s getting married, the date, the time, the name of the venue, and the city and state. If the reception is happening at the same place, we suggest including something like ‘dinner and dancing to follow, as well as the dress code.
Reception Card
We suggest including a reception card, if the reception will be at a different venue than the ceremony. A reception card should state the name and address of the venue and can also include the time if it’s not being held immediately after the ceremony.
Directions Card
Although modern-day wedding websites (and Google Maps) have largely replaced directions and map cards, we think they are a romantic, fun, and functional add-on to the overall suite, especially if an event is at a venue that’s hard to find (plenty of those in Tuscany and Amalfi!).
Response/ RSVP Card
A very important tool when planning a wedding is the RSVP cards. Response cards are a way to collect the RSVPs, and often include a sentence with a “reply by” date at the top or bottom of the card and checkboxes for “accepts with pleasure” and “declines with regret.” We love the ones that include a fill-in-the-blank for guests to write in their names (or maybe we can fill those with personalized calligraphy).
Wedding Logos
In our studio, we offer the service of creating a personalized logo for each couple, something that adds such a cute and elegant touch to the overall suite and can be used on the actual paper goods, as well as engrave it in the stamp that will be used to press the sealing wax. It’s a wonderful idea for a perfectly branded wedding celebration with a cohesive style.
At the Wedding
Ceremony Program
If the ceremony is on the shorter side these cards are not mandatory, but for longer ceremonies, we do suggest you opt for a ceremony program. A program usually includes the couple’s name, date, location of the ceremony, a brief welcome, an overview of the proceedings, and the names of everyone involved in the ceremony.
Escort Cards
Escort cards help direct guests to their assigned tables and add so much to the elegance and sophistication to a wedding day. Individual cards or a sign listing the names of guests and their designated tables are usually placed at the entrance of the reception so guests can easily find their seats.
Place Cards
Little jewels that complete the look of a table, place cards are more formal than escort cards and designate what table a guest will be sitting at along with the seat. They’re typically used for formal sit-down dinner receptions and add glamour and luxury to the tablescape.
Table Number Cards
These are essential for a big wedding and can be customized to many styles, colors, and textures. Table Numbers help guests find their seats and provide some organization to the wedding day. We always make sure the numbers printed on the cards are big enough for people to see.
Menu Cards
A foodie’s best friends, menu cards give an overview of what will be served for the meal and help guests feel the vibe of the wedding dinner. Some will include options to choose from (entreĂ©, sides, and dessert) while others (buffet or family-style) will simply include the food on offer. These cards are especially important if you’re hosting a destination wedding in a foodie location and want to immerse your guests in the flavours of the destination.
Favor Tags
Another little personalized element that will make all the difference. Favor tags usually include the names of the couple and/or the date of the wedding. Including a tag is optional as a lot of the information these days is engraved or calligraphed on the gift itself, but it’s also a nice touch and another placement for calligraphy and special touches.
After the Wedding
Thank-You Cards
Generally, thank-you cards should include the gift giver’s name, what they bought, and a note of appreciation. They should be sent out within three weeks of receiving the gift but we have also launched the idea of Live calligraphy, a performance on the actual day of the wedding, resulting in personalized thank you notes or gifts for your guests to take home. If you want to include photos from your wedding on or within your thank-you cards, they can be sent out a little later. Generally, they can be as customized or as minimal as each couple desires – we’re full of energy and ideas!
Our studio is here to help all couples with their stationery needs! We will be thrilled to work with you and we hope our little guide gave you an idea of what are your options of wedding paperie. For a more personalized experience do contact us and we will help you, as well as answer all your questions!
