While booking a venue, hiring a planner, and even choosing a few other key vendors may be the first steps you take when planning your wedding, designing your stationery is an important one to start as soon as you have an idea of what your wedding will be like. Why? Stationery creates your guests’ first impression of what’s to come and provides you a unique opportunity to put your own spin on all of the stationery components throughout your celebration. That’s why we like to suggest starting this process early as it can take a while, even with a talented pro at the helm. You’ll consider materials (who says an invite has to be paper?), colors, fonts, printing methods, and possibly other elements like calligraphy or illustrations. And not to mention, you’ll want to set aside time to thoroughly proof read every word of text.
But what we love about stationery is how it really sets the tone. Save the dates can often be more playful than the formal invitation or a more minimal design before the full aesthetic is revealed. The key part of the save the dates is always to clearly outline the details of the celebration to come. For most of our clients, who host destination weddings, that’s super important, as guests will need to make travel arrangements and often extend their stays for a bit of a vacation.
When it comes to invitations, it’s all about making a conscious first impression. While the save the date and invites don’t have to match one another, the invite should tie in with the look and feel of the big day itself—and often will continue through day-of paper pieces like programs, escort cards, menus, and signage. We love when our stationery designers create unique elements (like a monogram or motif) that we can even use on décor, like a dance floor decal or an embroidered dinner napkin.
Stationery can very effectively set the tone of a celebration. Consider the text itself. Opting for all lowercase or a simpler, sans serif font can signify a more modern or casual affair. And when it comes to printing methods, an engraved suite or gold beveled edges typically signifies the event will be quite formal.
We love playing with texture, wording, and ways we can make each stationery suite completely suit the couple, their setting, and the tone of their big day. And we love working with different stationery designers, as they each bring something different to the table—ome are known for their illustrations while others for their out-of-the-box ideas.
Here, some tips to keep in mind before you choose who is right for you:
- Work with someone who is creative AND organized. See if they have a planning guideline and can clearly explain their process
- Find the person who best fits your aesthetic vs. trying to make someone fit into a “box” that they don’t fit in
- Consider the questions they ask to get a sense of the vibe for your wedding and who you are as a couple. Particularly if really personalizing your stationery is important to you.
- Get a clear outline of how many rounds of edits you will get and how many proofs are included before any additional charges are made.
From top to bottom:
Stationery by Bliss & Bone / Photo by Jose Villa
Stationery by Poste and Co / Photos by Tec Petaja
Stationery by Happy Menocal / Photos by Rachel Havel
Stationery by Yonder Design / Photo by Rebecca Yale
Stationery by Poste and Co / Photos by Jose Villa
Stationery by Paper Birch Designs / Photos by Rachel Havel
